Going Beyond Friendship
by Flowerlady
Summary: Pre- to post- Clone Wars...They never intended to fall in love…The story of Nejaa Halcyon, his secret marriage to Scerra and their friendship with Restek Horn, who went beyond friendship with a 25 yr ruse. This is the story Corran Horn never knew.
1. Chapter 1: Going Beyond Friendship

**Cover art is listed in my Profile...**

**Title:** Going Beyond Friendship

**Rating:** PG-13

**Author:** Flowerlady

**Genre:** Romance, Angst

**Timeframe:** Pre- to Post- Clone Wars

**Characters: **(association is at introduction in the story)

Adelyn Mallane, Engineer/ Ship designer

Anakin Skywalker, Jedi Knight

Nejaa Halcyon, Jedi Master

Nyche Karath, university student

Rostek Horn, Lieutenant, Corellian Security

Scerra Mallane, Teacher

Valin Halcyon (Hal Horn), Child

Yarlet Jenaves, Captain, Corellian Security

(More may be added as they are introduced)

**Disclaimer: **

The universe and the characters belong to George Lucas and/or the authors who created them. I am not receiving anything but the pleasure of playing in George's sandbox.

**Summary:**

Corran Horn grew up believing he knew his family's history. Then he discovered that what he knew was a lie. The man he thought was his grandfather wasn't, and a man, a Jedi Master, he only heard about in guarded whispers was the real patriarch of his line.

This is the story that they never told Corran…

Nejaa Halcyon was a good-natured Jedi Master on the trail of a stolen Alderaanian painting, which he followed to his home planet of Corellia. There he met and was paired with CorSec Lieutenant Rostek Horn. They immediately hit it off, and Ros never hesitated at introducing the Jedi to a woman he considered as close as a sister, Scerra Mallane. What he never expected was that the Jedi and the school teacher would fall in love, or that in his desire to protect his friends, he would be embroiled in an elaborate lie that would span 25 years. Nor did he ever expect that his pretending to be her husband and her son's father would have to become a reality to save their lives.

This is the story of three friends and the ruse that put them on a collision course that would test their friendship, fidelity, love and honor…

**Author's Notes: **

First off, I would like to thank the The Force. Net Literature Board thread **Horn/Halcyon Confusion** posted by user Iverna for the inspiration. Secondly, I'd like to give credit to Havac and Dawud786 for actually giving me the plot bunny from their responses within the thread. They have given me consent to use their ideas as my basis for this story. Thanks guys!!

I've taken some liberties with Scerra and Nyche Horn. I gave them both "maiden" last names and fleshed them out, so in essence, they're OCs with canon names. I've also used my own idea of when I think Valin Halcyon was born. No, I do not think he was only thirteen when his wife had Corran.

I've strived to keep this as canon compliant as possible, and I've based some things on information found in Wookieepedia, as well as other sources. However, I will bend certain things to fit my story.

Enjoy!!

_**Going Beyond Friendship**_

**Chapter 1 **

_43 BBY _

_North_ _Side_ _Academy__, Coronet City, Corellia_

It was just another day in the life of elementary school teacher Scerra Mallane. Some days she was excited at the prospect of meeting the shining young faces of her twenty students, all wealthy, mostly human nine-year-olds. However, other days, Scerra wondered if she'd make it through. Sighing, she punched in the code to open her third year class room. She loved her students and teaching, but there were some days that she felt very lonely. This was one of those days.

The door swooshed open allowing her to enter. They remained open as she liked them even on days like today when she wouldn't have students in her classroom. The automatic lights came on as she weaved her way around the small green panted desks to her orderly larger desk in the far corner. The room was like most Corellian classrooms. Holocharts and computers lined the walls. Built into each of the paired desks was a datapad, and on low shelves were storage containers of datadisks.

After sitting down and starting her datapad, she looked at the droid in its slot and dreaded activating it. She knew Bookie would insist on discussing the upcoming curricula meeting with the dean of the prestigious North Side Academy.

Deciding she could wait before activating the droid, Scerra began to page through lesson plans from previous years. Although she didn't want think about the meeting in two days, she did have to figure out what she was going to present to Dean Klissinger. It would be easier with Bookie, but she wanted the peace of the empty classroom, and needed the distraction of doing the work herself right now.

She glanced once more at the protocol droid with a mix of affection and frustration, and wondered if, in the five years she'd been teaching, she would be as good as she was without it. She always let her students rename the droid every session. It was her way of making the droid their own. This cycle the winning name was Bookie. He had been named everything from Hyperspace to Droid. Some years the children were very creative, other years they didn't really care. She always kept the name the children voted on for the silver education droid. Sometimes by the second month of school the kids weren't too pleased with their choice, but she never changed the name, until she wiped it from his memory for the next session. It was a lesson in learning to live with the consequences of your actions.

In four months Bookie would again get a new name from a new group of students. It was for this upcoming session that she had to do the curriculum planning. Every year, the school insisted on a new curriculum plan for the new session from each teacher. It was to prevent them from becoming stale and to maintain North Side's status as the top school in all of Corellia.

She had been teaching here since she graduated, at the top of her class, from Corellia University five years ago. She was lucky to be hired on at the private school immediately after graduation without any experience. She earned a decent salary and had status as a North Side teacher, though that didn't really mean much to certain people. This was the academy most of Corellia's leaders sent their children. Her first year as a teacher she had the honor of teaching the prime minister's daughter.

She was happy here, but her mother kept insisting that she needed to move on. Despite the fact that every being had to be taught by someone, teaching wasn't a career that anyone aspired to. Most people, like her mother, felt droids could do the job. In these small minds, the art and science of teaching was only a few steps above being a cantina dancer.

That was really what was bothering her. Was her mother right? Was she wasting her life doing a job a droid could do?

She glanced once more at Bookie. No, and she would prove that she was a far better teacher than he'd ever be. Turning back to her datapad with renewed determination, Scerra decided she'd prove it by giving the dean a plan for next session's curriculum that would simply amaze him.

* * *

_Conference Room, CorSec Headquarters, Coronet City, Corellia _

"Lieutenant Rostek Horn," Captain Yarlet Jenaves said indicating Rostek. Widely s miling, he turned to the Jedi and added, "Master Nejaa Halcyon."

Rostek s miled and shook the Jedi's hand, surprised by the firmness of the man's grip. He had worked with Jedi before, but not for a few years. As he broke the handshake, he said, "Please, call me Ros."

Nejaa gave him an easy lopsided grin and replied, "And please call me Nejaa. The master thing can get annoying at times, especially when one is trying not to announce to the galaxy he is a Jedi."

"I bet." Ros took measure of the Jedi Master. He guessed him to be slightly older than his own 35 Standard Years. He wore the traditional dark green robes common to Corellian Jedi, but had simple dark brown trousers, a simple Corellian cut shirt underneath, and scuffed, worn black boots. Ros got the impression that he only donned the robe for this meeting. His long hair was tied at his nape and was dark brown, almost black. His hazel eyes were steady as they regarded him with the same intensity Ros was giving the Jedi. The only weapon he carried was his lightsaber which tucked away in his belt under his robe and out of sight. Ros only got a glimpse of it because he was looking for it. After only taking a few heartbeats to gather this information, Ros said matter-of-factly, "Something big must be happening if the Jedi are in on it."

Before Nejaa could respond, Jenaves gestured toward the simple drab metal conference table. "Please, gentleman, have a seat."

Ros looked around when he heard a fa miliar beep, in the corner stood a basic R-2 unit. They were often used, not only as astromechs, but as data analyzers, for data and evidence storage and many other police activities which went far beyond being the co-pilot in a starfighter. He easily recognized the unit as Ristoo, his own droid. The droid beeped at him again as Ros and the others sat at the table. As Ros s miled at the green and red droid, he commented, "Nice to see you too, Ristoo. I get the feeling you already know what's going on."

Yarlet responded, "Yes, the droid has been uploaded with the mission perimeters. And only he, you and I know about them. As far as anyone is concerned this mission never happened."

"Oh, I love those," said Ros dryly. He turned to the Jedi and pointedly inquired, "Okay. So, Jedi, what's going on? Now what can't you golden boys handle on your own that you'd come crawling to CorSec for help?"

Nejaa raised a brow and grinned that lopsided smirk. "Inquisitive, aren't you?"

"Yeah, it keeps me alive by not taking suicide missions."

"Horn! That will be enough."

"Sorry, Captain," Ros relented contritely.

"Master Halcyon, if you will please explain the particulars to Lieutenant Horn before he finds himself patrolling the refuse collection areas of our fine city for the next six months." As the captain spoke he looked sharply at Ros.

"Yes, well," Nejaa s miled again as he said, "you are right, Ros, I do need CorSec's help and it has to be kept secret. I've been following an art thief for the past ten months."

"Doesn't sound like the Jedi's usual chore, chasing ordinary thieves." Ros shifted on his chair. Something smelled as bad as those garbage heaps Yarlet threatened to put him in charge of. "I thought you guys never got involved with local law enforcement. Or was it Jedi art that was stolen?"

"No, not Jedi art. And usually, we don't get involved. But when art is stolen from the summer home of a member of the noble Anderaanian Antilles fa mily and a forgery finds its way to the Chandrila Museum of Art, we'll get involved. The painting had just been commissioned and hadn't even been de-crated before it was taken."

Ros sat leaned in over his arms. "Okay. Let me guess. This painting had never been seen before. So when the museum agent seen it, they thought they were getting a great deal. I bet the artist is some well known who has a great name for themselves. The real art then shows up on Corellia—probably in the possession of someone important. And now you need CorSec to help you sniff out either the evidence that would prove that person paid someone to steal it, or whether they are being duped."

"Very impressive deduction, Lieutenant Horn. Yes, that pretty much sums it up." Nejaa sniggered as he looked at Yarlet. "You did say you would team me up with the best, Captain."

"Hey, Horn has an attitude as big as a Hutt, but he knows what he's doing."

Ros grinned smugly at his captain, and, despite his threats, Ros's friend. "Well, that is why you'd never leave me in the garbage heaps for long. I'd know too many secrets of too many influential people, including you. It's best to keep where you can see me. Right, Cap?" Then he turned to Nejaa and asked, "So, how much is this art worth?"

Nejaa pulled a datadisk from his pocket. Using the holoprojector in the center of the table, he called up an image. Suddenly, in the floating over the surface was a hologram of a painting of what appeared to be a royal wedding of two very young humans.

"This is actually a holo of the forgery of _The Coming Together_ and is an artist's interpretation of the marriage between the Organa and Antilles fa milies. The Aderaanian noble Ostus Antilles was planning on presenting it to his granddaughter Princess Breha and her new husband Prince Bail Organa as a post-wedding gift. Because it is from the famous painter Ardan Misk, it's worth a quarter million credits."

"Whoa…That's one hell of an expensive wedding holo. I hope it lasts," exclaimed Ros as he sat back, crossing his arms over his chest.

"So, a forgery finds its way into the Chandrila Museum?" Yarlet shook his head and went on, "But you'd think the agent doing the buying would have wondered why a painting of the future rulers of Aderaan would be on the open market."

"True." Nejaa said as he explained. "Unfortunately, the agent disappeared before I could question her. My intuition tells me that she was part of the deal. She'd buy the forgery for the museum and afterward run off with the thief with the real painting."

"What did the museum lose over this deal?"

"Two-hundred-thousand credits," Nejaa answered Ros's question. "Thus, the reason the Jedi was asked to assist in finding the thief. Aderaan's royal fa mily is out its very expensive painting, and the Chandrila government's been swindled and embarrassed."

"And now it shows up on Corellia." Ros s miled. "Well, you've come to the best. We'll find your missing painting, Master Halcyon."

"I hope so. I'd hate to see the head of Corellian Engineering be caught up in a stolen art scandal."

* * *

_Raging Ranto Cantina, Near CorSec Headquarters_

He followed the younger CorSec lieutenant into the smoky interior of the busy cantina, taking in his friendly greetings to pair of passing officers. They had been working for three days on the case of the stolen art, until Ros suddenly got a call from a friend who asked to meet him at the local CorSec hangout. Since it was dinner time anyway, Ros invited him along. Nejaa had taken a liking to the outspoken, good-humored detective, and could easily see why Ros Horn was so well liked and respected by his fellow officers.

Nejaa had traded his Jedi robes in for a more non-descript outfit of plain trousers, white shirt and a long cape. The only weapon he ever carried was his lightsaber, which was tucked in his belt and partly concealed by the cape. All in all, with his long hair and scuffed boots, Nejaa looked the complete opposite to Ros Horn's tidy dark uniform and polished boots.

But the way the two new partners dressed wasn't the only differences. Ros was a half dozen centimeters taller than Nejaa and was leaner in stature. His light brown hair was cut short; his eyes were a bright and inquisitive blue. On his right thigh was holstered a CorSec service blaster which Nejaa was certain he would never want to be on the business end of.

"Hey, Ros!"

"Scerra!" Ros turned to Nejaa and said, "There she is. C'mon."

As the two men shouldered their way through the crowd, Nejaa asked, raising his voice to be overheard the clatter of loud conversation, laughing and music, "This place is packed."

Ros s miled over his shoulder. "It's the last day of the work week for most folks. Also, the band playing tonight is pretty popular around here." As Ros shoved his way past another off-duty CorSec officer, he patted the man on the back and said in greeting, "Hey, Jollen, nice to see that new wife lets you out sometimes."

"Yeah, but I don't mind having to run home either. If you know what I mean," the other man said with a wink and big s mile on his face.

Finally, they made it to a small round table in the corner not far from the dance floor. A band made up of Bith musicians and two Twi'leks female singers were setting up for their performance later. It was clearly obvious to Nejaa why the band was a hit among the mostly male patrons. He sniggered as he watched the two rare Lethan beauties dance around on the stage as they warmed-up, thinking they wouldn't need to utter a sound to draw a crowd.

He turned away from them to watch as Ros disengaged from a friendly embrace with a young woman. She turned her s miling face from Ros, and her bright green eyes locked with Nejaa's. Ros sat down on the chair beside her. She continued to stare at Nejaa. She was not the most beautiful woman he'd ever met, but there was something about her. She tucked a lock of her short dark auburn hair behind her ear, which Nejaa guessed was a nervous habit.

Finally, she broke the spell by looking away. At the same time, Nejaa recovered and sat in the chair across from her. "Are you going to introduce me to your friend, Ros?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ros leaned back, gesturing to Nejaa. "Scerra, this is Jedi Master Nejaa Halcyon. He and I are doing some work together. Nejaa, this is Scerra Mallane. I saved her from a bully when she was still in diapers and we've been friends ever since."

She playfully swatted Ros on the arm as she exclaimed, "You saved me? As I remember it, you were the one who put him up to it." Then she turned an easy s mile to Nejaa that lit her face. She held out her hand, as Nejaa took it to shake, she said, "Nice to meet you, Master Halcyon."

Nejaa returned her s mile with one of his lopsided grins. "Please, it's just Nejaa. And the pleasure is all mine, Miss Mallane."

She blushed as she pulled her hand from his. "Well, please, call me Scerra. I get Miss Mallane enough from my students."

After ordering drinks and food, Ros said over the din, "How did your meeting go today?"

She sat her lum bottle down as she responded, "Actually it went well. I proved to myself that I can think without a droid, that's for sure. Dean Klissinger was impressed. He wants to take my plan to the board of directors. He thinks it's time to standardize things—using my ideas."

"That's great, Scerra," said Ros. Then he added in a haughty tone. "Scerra is a teacher at the posh North Side Academy."

"Ros, you make it sound like I'm a snob," she countered and laughed.

"Teaching is a noble career," Nejaa said in his calm, unassuming way. She turned to him and her entire presence seemed to bloom. "I admire anyone who can open young minds and fill them with knowledge."

Ros rolled his eyes, but Nejaa ignored his new friend, and Scerra hadn't seen the action at all, she was too focused on Nejja. "Thank you, Nejaa. Not everyone thinks that way."

"Well," he said as he leaned back as the service droid sat his plate before him, "I, myself, have taught."

"Really?"

"Yes, at the Academy. It isn't as easy as some folks like to think."

She held his gaze for a moment longer before he said, "This smells delicious. Ros, if it tastes half as good, my opinion of you will be evaluated some."

Scerra's laugh was nearly drowned out as the Twi'leks broke out in song. "Wow, Horn, he already knows you, huh?"

After the meal of spiceloaf and crisped tubers, they ordered another round of ales. The crowd was still loud, but most patrons were either watching the performance of the band, or were on the dance floor. Suddenly, Scerra regarded the two men at her table with an indignant stare.

Nejaa caught her expression and grinned. She was feeling left out. Many couples were out dancing on the wood floor, but no one dared approach her while she sat with a cop and a Jedi. After downing what was left in his ale bottle, he stood and held out his hand. "May I have this dance?"

She graced him with one of her radiant s miles as she placed her hand in his. "Yes, you may. I was beginning to wonder if either one of you were going to get the message." She pulled him out onto the floor and easily slid into his embrace with her arms around his neck. She then winked as she began to sway to the music. "Now, the question is, can the Jedi Master dance?"

He chuckled and swung her around. "A little late to wonder that, isn't it?"

* * *

Thanks for reading...


	2. Chapter 2

**_Reviews: _**

**Isadora Johnson**: Thanks!! I love the Halcyon/Horn family and this story is such a rip one for possiblity. Thanks for reading...

**Melmarett**: As I said above, I love Corran's story too. I'm glad that you are enjoying it. Thanks for reading!!

* * *

**_Chapter 2_**

_Chateau Saffore, on Gold Beach, near Tyrena, Corellia_

"Let me do the talking," Nejaa said as they approached ornate gate of the one of many estates of Baron Franses Saffore, the president of Corellian Engineering and undoubtedly the richest being on Corellia.

"Be my guest," Ros replied. "I still think this isn't going to get us anywhere except on Jenaves's bad side. Even a rooky knows enough to leave the extremely rich alone."

They had parked their speeder down the street and walked up to the massive mansion that sat on an artificial bluff that overlooked Gold Beach and the ocean. They rounded a manicured shrub row to stop at the gatehouse at the entrance, Nejaa said in a low tone, "That's really no excuse; you've seen the evidence, Ros. Everything points to Saffore."

A voice came over a speaker from the gatehouse, demanding, "Please state your business, gentleman."

Ros looked at Nejaa who smiled and said, "We would like to speak to Baron Saffore."

"Do you have an appointment?"

Ros watched Nejaa smugly as he sought out the guard's face from behind the transparasteel of the gatehouse window. As he reached out into the Force and made a small gesture with his hand, he responded in an even tone, "We do not need an appointment."

"No, you don't need an appointment," the attendant guard repeated.

"You will let us pass and forget that we were here."

"I will let you pass. Have a good day."

Instantly losing the smugness, Ros stared at Nejaa with his mouth hanging open as Nejaa winked at him and said, "You have a nice day too." However, if the guard heard him he didn't respond, he had already turned away from them forgetting about them.

The gate opened, but Ros was still staring at the Jedi. It really was the first time Nejaa had openly used the Force in the presence of the CorSec detective. "I can't believe you just did that," Ros whispered as he finally shook himself out of his disbelief.

Moving through the open gate, Nejaa laughed and said, "Now you know why I said I'd do the talking, CorSec."

As Ros looked back at the gatehouse and a guard who didn't pay them any more attention than he would a stray insect, he followed the Jedi through the open gate and again shook his head. After a moment, he asked, "You'd never do that to me, would you? You know, mind tricks?"

Nejaa sniggered and said, "Ros, you should know better. I'm an honorable Jedi Master, after all."

Ros smiled at him and responded, relieved, "That's good to know."

"But sometimes when you become as stubborn a gundark the temptation does arise from time to time," Nejaa added, gaining him a sharp look from his friend which caused Nejaa to laugh. He patted his taller man on the shoulder as they moved along the drive. "Oh, c'mon. You'll get to see how a Jedi does things."

"Yeah, that's what's worrying me. None of this plan is legal, you know."

"I know." Then he grinned and added, "But if we're caught, you can always claim I used Jedi mind tricks on you. No one would ever be the wiser."

Ros just glared at the Jedi. After a moment, he laughed but didn't say anything.

They were quiet the rest of the way up the immaculate stone walk to the beautifully carved wood front door. As they waited for the door to open, Ros glanced over at Nejaa and asked, "You going to keep doing that thing with the Force to get us the whole way in?"

Nejaa only gave him lopsided grin.

-x-

Ros couldn't believe, first of all, that he agreed to Nejaa's outrageous plan, but then he couldn't believe how easy it was to literally walk into the mansion of such an important person. They stayed to dark hallways and moved slowly through the house. Nejaa had told him during the planning session that his greatest talent in the Force was something called Alter Mind. As he explained it to him, Nejaa was very good at manipulating what others could see with illusion and with Force suggestion, as he had with the guard and butler who answered the door.

They had been gathering leads for over three weeks, all pointing to Franses Saffore. A week ago they had their biggest break when they found the art agent, who had bought the forgery on behalf of the Chandrilia Museum, by using spaceport and several cities surveillance cams. After ten days of using a computer to cross match a staff holo from the museum with the data from the surveillance cams, they got a positive match. She was having lunch at a local Tyrena café with someone known to be an art collector for Franses Saffore.

Then Ros tailed the collector for a few days and was brought to this house twice. It was a safe bet that if the art was here, it was in this house. That was when Nejaa cooked up the elaborate scheme to sneak in to find the painting. Once they had proof it was here, they could get a warrant and come back. But no magistrate was going to give a CorSec cop a warrant to search the home of Baron Saffore without a solid reason.

They rounded a corner, when a protocol droid came out of a room. "Oh, my! Who are you?"

Ros glanced at Nejaa, who slowly pushed him back against the dark paneled wall. Then the Jedi held out his hand while he half-closed his eyes. Ros held his breath, not certain what was going on.

Suddenly, the droid looked around seemingly confused. Then, as his photocepters blinked a few times, he said, "That's odd." After looking around again, he made a motion that was in imitation of a human shrug as he closed the door. Then he simply wondered down the passageway, without as much as a glance back.

Ros didn't move a muscle until Nejaa dropped his hand. The Jedi took a deep breath and turned to look at a shaken Ros. "That was close."

As they moved toward the door the droid had come out of, Ros whispered, "What did you do?"

Nejaa held his hand over the keypad of the door for a few moments before glancing back at Ros. "I wrapped us in an illusion and wiped a few seconds from the droid's memory."

"You can do that?"

"Yeah, but it's not easy. Now shhh. I have to concentrate if I'm to trip this lock without setting off the alarm. According to those schematics I memorized of the house, this is a storage room."

Ros raised his brows and stepped back a half step. He watched fascinated as Nejaa held his hand over the keypad, with his eyes shut and a complete expression of deep concentration on his face. After a few seconds, the door slid open.

Nejaa held his hand out in gesture for Ros to be still as a far away look came over his eyes. Ros had seen the Jedi do that enough times to know that he was checking the Force to make sure there was no further danger.

The windowless, dim room was clearly a storage room, with crates and boxes sitting on the floor and stacked against the walls. They slowly moved around a stack of plastic crates to find a large, slender, rectangular shaped object sitting on a tripod draped with a white covering.

The intruders looked at each other, and Nejaa smiled as he whispered, "I'd bet my lightsaber that's our painting."

"The size is right," Ros whispered back.

Suddenly, Nejaa grabbed him and pulled him to the floor behind a stack of crates. Nejaa held his finger over his lips to indicate silence, while he pointed up toward a cam that was panning the area where they had just been.

Nejaa frowned and Ros wanted to ask what he was thinking, but couldn't risk it. Then he turned to Ros. Barely whispering, he said, "I can create an illusion to trick the cam, but you'll have to check to make sure that's our painting."

Ros nodded, not wanting to risk speaking. He waited for Nejaa to take his pose of concentration. Once the Jedi gave him a slight nod, Ros crept across the space to the tripod. His heart raced and he tried not to breathe too often or too loudly. He had to be crazy to risk his career like this. Breaking and entering into to the home of the wealthiest being on Corellia was enough to get him thrown out of CorSec, but to be an accomplice to some of the things Nejaa so willingly did with the Force to other beings' minds was somewhat disturbing.

He finally reached the sheet and risked a glance back to Nejaa behind the crates. His eyes were closed and his brow furrowed as if in deep thought. Perspiration was beginning to bead on his forehead. He turned back to the sheet and lifted it ever so slowly. After peeking under the drape, he smiled and pulled a small camera from his belt. He lifted the sheet up and tucked it over the top. Then he glanced back at Nejaa, praying that his illusion, or whatever he was doing to trick the surveillance cam, was working. Turning back to the painting, he snapped a holo.

Once that was done, he replaced the drape and hurried back to Nejaa, who finally let go of the illusion with an exhausted gasp.

With a huge grin on his face, Ros held up the cam and nodded. They found their stolen painting. Now, they just had to get out of the house so they could come back with a warrant.

* * *

_Scerra Mallane's Apartment, Coronet City_

She stared at her reflection in the vanity mirror and wondered what in the Hells of Corellia she was doing. She never dressed up to go to the Ranto, but here she was in a new black dress, high-heels and applying makeup. Her short red hair was curled with the left side held back with a beaded comb. She shook her head as she put the cap back on the wine colored lipstick she had just applied.

"This is crazy, girl," she said to herself as she threw the lipstick back into the bag with the rest of her makeup. "He's a vaping Jedi." She met her reflected gaze. "You know nothing can come of this. So why are you trying to impress him?"

She hadn't stopped thinking about Nejaa Halcyon since meeting him a month ago at the Ranging Ranto. They had ended up dancing into the night that evening and for two other Fifthnights since then. It had become expected to meet him and Ros for dinner, and then she and Nejaa would dance until the band stopped playing several hours later. He surprised her with his skill and natural charm. Ros never liked to dance, nor was he good at it; so, it was fun to find someone so talented. Through their times at the Ranto, she discovered he was on Corellia for a several months. She knew he and Ros were working on a case together, but he told them that he wasn't planning to return to Coruscant even after their mission was complete.

However it wasn't only this news or his dancing ability that encouraged her, she discovered Nejaa Halcyon enjoyed flirting with her. Yes, she was sure some of his complements to her while they danced, his questions about her students and comments about his joyful memories of teaching were nothing but pure and honest flirting. But surely Jedi didn't flirt, she kept telling herself. Maybe he was just being nice and refreshingly honest. Though, all that did was make him even more appealing. She couldn't help the attraction to the older, ruggedly handsome Jedi Master. She guessed that he had to be about ten years older then her, but she always had been more attracted to older men. And he was so unlike the men she normally dated. There was just something about him that intrigued her. He was mysterious and well traveled, having been all over the galaxy as a Jedi scout—whatever they were, but it all sounded exiting to her.

A sudden soft mewling sound and a soft thump brought her out of her daydream. She smiled as she looked into the sulfuric yellow eyes set in a furry black face of her spukamas who had jumped up onto the vanity. He wiggled his wet, whiskered nose and _meowed_ again as he ran his sleek head and side over her hand which was still holding the makeup bag.

She laughed and picked the cat up and hugged him. "If I was smart, I'd let you be the only man in my life, Chuckles."

The spukamas was a type of housecat which had black, silky fur and bright yellow, diamond-shaped eyes. Chuckles had been her pet since Ros had given him to her after her father had been killed in an industrial accident ten years ago. She rubbed her face against his silky back and he simply purred at the attention.

"Yeah, if I was smart," Scerra murmured again as she put the cat down on the floor. She watched as he slinked from the room as quietly as he had entered. Then she looked at her reflection again before standing. "But who said I was smart when it came to men."

She entered the common area of her comfortable apartment. Chuckles _meowed_ as he ran up to her and rubbed himself over her foot. She gently pushed him away and he pounced playfully on the toe of her high-heeled black shoe. He growled and she grinned as she said, "Okay, okay. I know you're hungry."

She entered the kitchen and opened a container of food. After plopping it into the cat's dish, she watched as he wiggled his nose and prowled toward the bowl as if he was coming up onto prey. She laughed at his shenanigans, it was this type of stuff that earned the cat the name Chuckles ten years ago when he was only a kitten from Rostek. The black cat never failed to cause her to laugh.

Suddenly, the door bell rang. She glanced at the chrono over the foodprep area and frowned. Who could be calling on her now? She was to meet the guys in less then an hour at the cantina.

She opened the door and instantly groaned. "Mother."

Adelyn Mallane was a tall, middle-aged woman who had made a career, and a name for herself, as an engineer and ship designer for Corellian Engineering. As she entered the apartment, she looked her daughter up and down, taking in the full-skirted, faux shimmersilk, sleeveless dress.

"You must have a date," she finally said as she moved past Scerra.

"Not really," she said, knowing it was better than lying. "But I am going out. I'm meeting some friends for dinner."

Adelyn turned and responded disapprovingly, "Not with a cop, I hope."

Exasperated, Scerra walked back toward the kitchen. "I'm not going on a date. I'm meeting Ros." When the older woman rolled her eyes, she said, "Mother, Ros is my best friend."

"I'm not talking about Rostek Horn, Scerra. Even I know you wouldn't ever dress up like this for him. So, who's this other 'friend'?"

Scerra stopped short. _Damn, how does she do that?_ She took a deep breath and turned. "He's just a friend. He's consulting with Ros on a case. He's a lot of fun and that's as far as it goes."

"Really?" Adelyn made a point to look her over again. "I don't remember that dress. New, isn't it?"

She shook her head and replied, trying to not become too defensive, "So, I went shopping and bought a new dress. I'm allowed. I'm twenty-eight years old, not eight, Mother. If I want to dress up to go out with some friends, I'm allowed."

Adelyn pursed her lips and was silent for several moments. Scerra and her mother hadn't gotten along for years, actually not since her father was killed when she was eighteen. He too was an engineer and worked for the ship building industry giant, Corellian Engineering. He had been working on a hyperdrive of a ship when the reactor went critical and exploded, killing him and forty-five of his fellow workers. Adelyn changed after that, becoming cold and demanding.

Scerra knew she had been an accident, her mother never wanted to have children. She was a career-minded woman, and, at first, her father had been fine with that. However, it was no secret that Valin Mallane loved his baby girl, once she graced his life. Scerra had always been closer to her father, a relationship her mother was rather jealous of, and once Valin died, Adelyn tried to control Scerra in a way her husband never had. Of course, all this did was cause the eighteen-year-old, independent young woman to rebel. She moved out and for a few months she lived with Ros, until she went to Corellian University.

Finally, Scerra said, "Mother, have you come over here for a reason? I have to leave, or I'll be late." To punctuate her point she picked up her small handbag from the formchair in the sitting area of the common room and opened it to peek in, making sure she had everything she wanted in it.

"If you would return my comm calls, I wouldn't have tocome over during inconvenient times. But I've been invited to a dinner party tomorrow evening, and was hoping that you'd come with me."

Scerra immediately knew her mother was up to something. She snapped the purse closed and said, "Mother, since when do you invite me to go to dinner parties with you? You've always been too ashamed that I didn't follow yours and Daddy's footsteps."

"Scerra, I've never been ashamed of you," Adelyn said, exasperated and maybe even little sadly. "I just think you could do so much better for yourself then teaching. But I didn't come here to argue. Mazy asked if I'd invite you."

Mazy Callowin was an old friend of her mother's and together they were constantly trying to set Scerra up with Mazy's son, whom she absolutely had no interest in. Impatient and ready to get away, Scerra said, "I'll think about it. Now, I really have to go. "

Sighing, Adelyn moved toward the door, once there she turned and said, "Scerra, despite what you think, I do care about you and only want the best for you."

"I know," Scerra responded obsequiously and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll think about the party." Adelyn looked one last time at her younger replica, and Scerra smiled, "I promise I'll call you."

"Take care, Scerra. You know I don't like you hanging out with all those CorSec officers. Some of them come from questionable backgrounds."

"Mother. Ros would never let anyone hurt me. He's as protective as a big brother sometimes."

She left and Scerra thought she was free of the questions, until Adelyn turned and asked, "This new friend of yours, what exactly does he do? You said he was consulting with CorSec."

She closed her eyes for a second and said, defeated, "Mother, he's only a friend. In fact, nothing can come of whatever you are thinking. He's a Jedi."

Adelyn's green eyes widened in surprise, but fortunately the door slid shut before she could say anything. Scerra leaned against the closed door, shut her eyes, and whispered, "He's perfect, but he's a Jedi."

* * *

_CorSec Headquarters _

"Horn, where you goin'?"

Nejaa and Ros turned at the voice. "To dinner, Cap. We're meeting my friend Scerra at the Ranto." Then Ros narrowed his eyes and shook his head, "Oh, no, my shift ended exactly," he looked at his wrist chrono, "ten minutes and fifty-two seconds ago."

Yarlet Jenaves chuckled as he said, "And you know as long as you are still in the building you're fair game when someone calls off."

"But, Jenaves, I've been putting in extra time all week, working with Nejaa. You know that," Ros all but whined.

"I know, but it's your turn. Faxland's wife went into labor, finally. He won't be in tonight and I want an experienced officer with that rooky partner of his."

Ros looked at Nejaa and then said, "Can I at least go to dinner?"

"Actually, no," the captain said simply. "Not out anyway. Grab something from the cafeteria here. I have a case I want to go over with you and Benaby."

Ros huffed, but relented. "Okay, fine. I'll meet you in the conference room in ten minutes."

Yarlet smiled and cuffed him on his shoulder. "Now that's the attitude that will make you the director someday, Horn. I'll go tell Benaby he's with you tonight." The older man turned and began to move away, then he looked back and said, "Oh, by the way, I still want a report on just how you two got that holo of that stolen painting. But you should have your warrant by tomorrow."

Nejaa grinned and said, "Thank you, Captain Jenaves. Maybe I'll let you in on that little investigative Jedi secret, once I have the painting back to the royal family of Aderaan."

"I'm anxiously looking forward to that, Master Halcyon."

Once the captain was gone, Ros said, "Well, I'd best be going. Tell Scerra that I'll call her."

"Wait!" Nejaa exclaimed when Ros turned to leave. "What do you mean by that?"

Ros smiled. "Go have dinner with Scerra. She'll enjoy it, and you two can dance the night away without feeling like you're leaving me out. I hate to dance, which obviously she loves, and you, my Jedi friend, are the perfect partner for her." With that he turned again and headed back down the corridor, waving his hand over his head as he went.

Nejaa stared after him for a moment, suddenly unsure of what to do. He knew he was treading dangerous water with Scerra Mallane. But there was something about her that intrigued him. She was lovely and had a fantastic personality to go with her good looks. Through their dinner conversations, he learned that they shared many of the same interests, teaching and dancing being among them.

Realizing that he was staring down the hallway, he turned and headed toward the exit. As he whistled a jaunty tune he had picked up from somewhere on his travels, he decided there was nothing in the Jedi Code that prohibited him from enjoying the company of a lovely, young, female friend.

* * *

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Thanks for reading...


	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter 3_**

_Raging Ranto Cantina_

Nejaa entered the cantina and weaved his way through the crowd, looking for Scerra. When he didn't find her at their usual table by the dance floor, he reached out into the Force, hoping to find her familiar presence. He found her among the mass of beings, but she wasn't in the common room. It suddenly surprised him at how relieved he was to have found her presence, and how disappointed he had been when he thought he'd missed her.

He had left CorSec headquarters, but instead of coming directly to the Ranto, he went back to the rooming house he was staying at, which was only a block away from CorSec and on the way to the cantina. He didn't understand why he had felt the need to change from his usual outfit of brown trousers, tunic and his worn boots, but he did.

He returned to the entry area of the barroom and waited for Scerra to appear from where he had sensed her. He found himself impatient, then he suddenly wondered about what he was doing and what he felt for her. He felt drawn to her, there was no denying that. He knew she was attracted to him, she wasn't adapt at hiding her feelings from him, but then she probably didn't realize he could pick up on them so easily. What did disturb him was his attraction to her and his desire to encourage it. A desire so great he'd change into black trousers and a very civilian white shirt just to make a good impression with her. He knew it was wrong and he understood this, but he couldn't make himself not want to see her, or to enjoy her company. And as he turned when he felt her enter the room, he realized just how happy he was that Ros wasn't with them.

Scerra came toward him from the direction of the refreshers. He only caught sight of her red hair as she threaded her way through the loud crowd, but soon she was close enough to see the rest of her. Nejaa was instantly astounded by what he saw. She was dressed in a very flattering sleeveless black dress, which shimmered when the silky fabric of its full skirt would catch a stray beam of light from one of the wall sconces.

"Nejaa, hi," she said once she got close enough to be heard over the din. She looked around and added, "Where's Ros?"

Nejaa swallowed, getting his sudden emotion back under control. "He had to pull another shift. Olin Faxland's wife went into labor."

She smiled and said, "That's too bad for Ros, but I'm happy for Olin. She's like two weeks overdue. I can't even imagine."

Nejaa snickered as he said, "I don't know Lieutenant Faxland that well, but from what I could gather, she wasn't letting him forget that _he_ put her into that uncomfortable predicament."

They shared a laugh, but soon Scerra looked around and frowned. "It seems busier than usual. There must have been a shift change at one of the orbitals. I just got here myself."

Nejaa nodded in agreement. Then the sounds of a loud argument broke out between two men near the area they usually sat by the dance floor. Two off-duty CorSec officers quickly intervened along with the Ranto's owner with a nasty looking stun baton. Nejaa could feel the hostility between the group and knew things were about to get a lot louder and more confused than he wanted them to be. He turned to Scerra and said, "Let's go somewhere else so we don't have to yell at each other to be heard. The Red Ladies aren't here tonight anyway," he pointed out to the stage where another lesser known group was trying to set up. The usual Fifthnight group, which was made up of Bith musicians and two Lethan Twi'lek sisters, who could actually sing as well as dance, was out of town.

She smiled and said, "Great idea. And I think I know the perfect place too. C'mon, my speeder is just outside."

Moments later, they were speeding in the direction of the ocean. Nejaa smiled as he looked over the controls of the old speeder. "I'm surprised this thing still can fly. This model is ancient, but it's in immaculate condition."

She laughed and looked at him. "I've taken very good care of my baby, thank you very much."

He returned her grin. "I'm sure you had too. I'm just surprised that's all, you don't seem the type of girl who into classic sport speeders."

"I'm not really, but this was a present from my dad when I first got my license. He liked old machinery—speeders and ships. It was that interest that attracted him to engineering as a kid. He liked to take old speeders and refurbish them. This was one of the last ones he did before he was killed."

Nejaa watched as she turned to look ahead through the windshield of the old bright blue SoroSuub landspeeder again. He could sense her sadness and loss as she spoke of her father. "You were very close to him?"

She glanced back at him and responded suspiciously, "Yes. How could you tell?"

Nejaa shrugged and looked away. Her green eyes seemed to penetrate something he wasn't sure he understood. "I sensed your love for him when you spoke of him. Sorry," he added as he turned to look at her again. "I didn't mean to pry."

She smiled and totally put him at ease. "Dad and I were very close. He understood me in a way my mother never has been able to." They came to an intersection and she stopped at the traffic signal. As they waited for it to change, she went on, "He was the one that encouraged me to become a teacher, in fact. I had helped out with a CE youth day. You know what I mean, where parent s could bring their little kids to one of the orbital shipyards for a day." He nodded and she continued, "Well, I helped with the little kids. I must have been on only thirteen at the time, myself, but I realized that I loved kids. I volunteered every year after that." The light changed and she went through the intersection. "Dad is the one who encouraged me to become a teacher. He knew I wasn't mechanically inclined enough or liked science enough to become an engineer like him and Mom. My mother never could understand that. She sees teaching as less than ideal for me and never agreed with Daddy that it was a noble profession.

"There's not a day that goes by that I don't miss him."

"What happened? You said he was killed?" Nejaa asked then quickly added, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that. You don't have to tell me."

She shrugged and turned the speeder down another avenue. "I don't mind talking about it. It hurts, because he's gone, but it's been long enough that I can talk about it without falling into a mushy mess of tearful grief." She paused for a moment as she made another turn onto a street that took them parallel with the beach. Housing along here was mostly single family and exclusive. The sun had set and the beach lighting along the strip of gold sand illuminated the calm water of the Southern Corellian Sea. Nejaa wondered where they were going, but didn't ask, he figured he'd find out soon enough.

Finally, she said, "I was eighteen when Dad was killed when a hyperdrive reactor he and his crew were working on went critical and exploded. A fluke accident, but it happened. Later CE realized that it was a design flaw and changed it in that particular ship."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Scerra. Losing a parent that you were so close to must be hard."

She pulled the speeder into a docking slip by a building that looked like an ancient seafaring ship. On what would have been the bow and painted in large, garish, old-fashioned lettering, was the name _The Mermaid_. She looked over at him as she powered down the engine. "You don't even know your parents, do you? I mean, Jedi are raised at the Temple, right?"

He nodded and replied, "That's true about Jedi being raised by the Order, but I know my parents, I'm just not close to them. They live in a farming village on the plains of the North Western Continent. I visit them from time to time when I'm on Corellia, but really I don't have a relationship with them like a son would normally have. I also have two half-siblings, my mother's children to her first husband, whom I don't know at all."

"That must be extremely difficult for them," she asked intently. "I can't imagine any parent giving their babies away to be raised by strangers. I can understand when it comes to adoption by a stranger who would love my child, but to give a child to someone who according to their own philosophy cannot love, that I don't understand."

He shrugged. It was a common argument that raged for decades, possibly even centuries, about the seemingly coldness in which the Jedi Order insisted on raising its members. "I don't know about that. And you would be surprised about just how willingly beings give their children over to the Jedi. But to assure you, the crèche parents are very attentive to the younglings. They never want for anything when it comes to comfort, but it is true we are taught early not to form attachments to our caregivers. However, occasionally it still happens."

"How old were you when you were taken to the Temple?" she asked, genuinely interested.

"I was two when I was taken to Coruscant. My great-grandfather was a Jedi and was the one who took me there. I don't even think anyone realizes that he was my relative. He died not many years after taking me to the Temple." He grinned at the thought of the scandal he was sure a discovered relationship would have caused as he added, "Apparently, he had a secret family here on Corellia and waited a few generations before bringing in another Halcyon to be trained. Though, I don't think my father is Force-sensitive, and I don't know about my grandfather. He was killed when my father was just a kid."

"Was your great-grandfather married? I thought that was forbidden."

"It is. But he wasn't married, only had a son, which he didn't even know about until the boy was a teenager."

"Oh!" she exclaimed when the meaning dawned on her and then blushed at his candid family secret. "Oh."

He laughed at her burst of embarrassment. "Don't be so surprised. It happens all the time, and I'm not ashamed of where I came from. Jedi are forbidden attachments, which include marriage, but we aren't required to be celibate. Good thing too, or I and several other Jedi for that matter, wouldn't be here. There are certain families who have turned out Jedi for centuries. This includes the Halcyons so I doubt my great-grandfather was the first to have a child without the benefit of marriage."

Nejaa watched as her blush turned a deeper shade of rose and smiled. He didn't know if it was his being so candid about the never talked about illegitimacy within the Jedi Order that caused the reaction, or something else.

She also seemed suddenly flustered, but covered it quickly by opening the door on her side and changing the subject. "Emm…let's go in. The Mermaid has the best seafood on the planet."

After entering the restaurant, which was decorated in the same fashion as the outside, they were met by an older woman who appeared to be almost as round as she was tall. She broke out into a wide smile and held out her arms to Scerra.

"Ahhh…Scerra! It's good to see you again."

Scerra hugged the buxom woman and said, "Mrs. Martiz, it's good to see you again."

They stepped away from each other and Mrs. Martiz looked up at Nejaa. Seeing the question and the delight in the woman's eyes, Scerra said, "Mrs. Martiz, this is my friend Nejaa. Nejaa this is an old family friend and owner of The Mermaid, Deena Martiz."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Deena said as she shook Nejaa's hand. "Any friend of Scerra's is a friend of mine."

Nejaa smiled and returned the greeting, then he said, "Scerra said that you serve the best seafood on the planet."

She laughed and dismissively waved him off. "She's too kind. But," she leaned in just a little as if she was going to tell them a secret, "I will admit my place is the best in Coronet City." Then she abruptly turned and gestured for them to follow her. "Follow me, I have the perfect table."

She led them through the busy restaurant but the private booths and the ancient nautical decorations that hung from exposed wood beams in the ceiling helped muffle the conversations. Soon they were seated in a cozy booth in the far corner, the only light coming from a dimly lit lamp over the table.

"I think she's gotten the wrong idea," Nejaa commented as Mrs. Martiz moved away from them.

As Scerra called up the holographic menu on the displayer at the edge of the table, she smirked and shrugged. "Not hard to do that, I suppose." Then she met his eyes and Nejaa felt his breath catch. She was absolutely beautiful. Smiling, she went on to add, "I will admit this feel an awful lot like a date."

Nejaa stared at her and then laughed.

"What's so funny?" she glared at him. "You wouldn't date me?"

Still snickering, he fought the sudden heat he felt come to his cheeks and was suddenly glad for the low lighting as he looked away. "It's just that I'd have to agree with you. That is if I knew what a date felt like."

"You've never been on a date?" she asked incredulous.

He met her eyes and shrugged. "No. I mean I've been in the company of women before, of course, but to say I've been on a _date_—I'd have to say no. Remember, this activity isn't exactly sanctioned by the Jedi Order."

She looked away and something subtle changed within her. It was almost as if she was disappointed. He then added, not really understanding the need to reassure her, "But I'm glad I'm here with you." She looked up again and he couldn't help the sudden desire to make her happy that came over him. He'd do anything to see her smile. In a low voice he said, "In fact, I wouldn't want it to be anyone else."

Then she smiled and Nejaa felt as if he had seen the sun for the first time. He was walking on quicksand and he knew it. He was feeling things he had never felt before, but he had no intention of stopping them. To stop the emotion he felt for her meant disappointing Scerra, and he had no desire to ever do that.

Suddenly, their serving droid came over and broke the growing tension between them.

Scerra's declaration about the food was a definite truth as they enjoyed a meal of salad greens and succulent sautéed shrimp in a spicy cream sauce severed over a bed of pasta. They washed it down with a bottle of Aderaanian wine. As they ate they talked about Scerra's recent endeavors in curriculum development at her school.

As the droid cleared their plates and they poured more wine, she said, "I'm pleased with the way things are going. I did relent and let Bookie finally help me some, but I've kept his contributions to the minimum. I want this to be my plan. Dean Klissinger and the board of directors have been thrilled with what I've come up with already." She paused and Nejaa could feel the pleasure radiating from her as she spoke of teaching. He could imagine her being extremely good at it. "In fact, the dean has hinted that if I keep this up they may make me his assistant. He's thinking of retirement in a few years which would be a perfect opening for me to become the principal. I'm already thinking of taking the necessary classes at the university next session."

"That's great, Scerra. I can tell just by the way you glow when you talk about your students that you love teaching." He watched as a blush touched her cheeks. He smiled at her and sipped at his wine.

"I do," she finally said and lifted her glass of wine to her lips. "But as much as I want to become the dean, I'll miss teaching. So," she shrugged and sat the glass down again, "we'll just have to see where it goes."

The droid returned and asked if they wanted dessert but they both declined. After the server left them again, Scerra said, "Hey, it's a beautiful night. Would you like to take a walk along the beach?"

Nejaa didn't want the evening to end. He smiled and said, "I'd love to."

-x-

Moments later they found themselves walking in the golden sand along the beach. Scerra had her heeled shows in her left hand and the warm sand felt delicious between her toes. Nejaa surprised her with his openness as they talked. He spoke again about his family, telling her that, though he loved what he did and felt being a Jedi was what the Force wanted of him, he did miss not being able to get to know them.

"Call it ignorance on my part, but why does the Order disallow normal family relationships? To me, it doesn't seem the best way to encourage its members to have healthy lives. I can't imagine a life without love, or family. My mother and I don't agree with each other, but we love each other, and despite her faults, can imagine never knowing her."

He was quiet for a few steps then suddenly stopped. "I suppose it does seem cruel. But I've seen some of the families Jedi children come from while I was a scout. I know for a fact those children are far better off with the Order than they would ever have been with their so-called families. In fact, considering the power they have, it's better for everyone. It can be very dangerous for a non-trained Force-sensitive if they fall into doing crime. Worse, if they are discovered by the wrong type and trained in the dark side." He paused and looked out over the calm, dark sea, before saying, "Though there were those babies from normal families who, no doubt, would have loved them with all that they had."

"What exactly is a scout? You said that you were one for about six years."

He took off his cape and spread it over the sand. Then he gestured to it. "Let's sit. This should protect your dress." She nodded and lowered herself down onto the black cape, while he sat next to her, but choosing to sit in the soft sand rather than too close to her.

"As a scout, I searched for and tested for possible Force-sensitives. I enjoyed my work, but sometimes it was heartbreaking."

"I can only imagine," she said and turned to look at him. As he pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his arms over them, she was stricken again just how good looking he was. He wasn't young, he told her that he was 38, and there were tiny lines at the corners of his eyes when he laughed, but his long hair was still dark without a trace of grey, and he was in better shape than most men half his age.

"But it's not the way you think. Usually it was because parents wanted their child to have a better life. They wanted them to be Force-sensitive and when the child tested negatively they would be quite beside themselves. I even rescued a few orphans from the clutches of disreputable homes. But the saddest thing that happened was when I found this Twi'Lek boy on Ryloth who was very strong in the Force and dreamed of being a Jedi, but he was too old to train."

"How old was he?"

"Eleven. It was afterward that I decided I needed a change. My Padawan was about ready for the Trials; so, I waited the year until he was knighted, and then I was assigned to the mission I'm on now."

She smiled as she said, "Which brought you to Corellia."

He returned her smile and agreed, his voice taking on a low tone, "Yes, which brought me to Corellia."

He gazed into her eyes for a long moment and Scerra wondered what he was thinking. His dark eyes seemed to burn in the dim illumination of the beach lighting and the full moon. Suddenly, he took a deep breath and looked back out over the water.

When he turned back to her, he asked, "So, we know why I'm not attached, but I can't understand why a beautiful, young woman like you isn't."

She stared at him. It was such a personal question, and normally she would have been offended by his bluntness, but that wasn't what surprised her. _Does he think I'm beautiful? _

"I'm sorry…uhh…that was probably too personal," he sputtered and blushed.

_Sweet Force, does he know how damned handsome that makes him!_

"It's okay. You've been so open, Nejaa," she said softly. "I guess I've never found the right man. I've had my share of boyfriends, but none of them ever…" _made me feel like you do_, she finished silently. She swallowed hard and looked away from his penetrating gaze. "Emmm…ever was interesting enough for me to pursue anything serious," she recovered as seamlessly as she could.

"What about you and Ros?" Nejaa's question was quiet.

She looked back at him and laughed when she realized that he was serious. "Ros and I are just friends. Nothing more and we never will be. I love him, but it's the kind of love I think a sister would have for a brother, and that's how he feels about me. True, I lived with him for about a half a year as I finished school before going to the university, but I never even had the desire to kiss him. It would be like kissing my brother."

Nejaa chuckled at the face she made as she wrinkled her nose. "Funny. I think most of CorSec thinks differently though."

"Of course they do." She shook her head disgustedly. "They think he and I have been an item since I was seventeen. They just don't understand that a man and a woman can have a purely platonic relationship."

"He never talks about his family, only you. I can see where they would misunderstand that. I surely would have."

"Well, he's an only child like me. His father and mine were friends and we often played together as kids, though," she chuckled as she said, "if you were to ask him, he'd call me the pest that toddled after him everywhere he went. He is seven years older than me. His parents made him play with me. But after one of his chums started being mean to me, he saved me and we've been close ever since."

"What happened? I think he mentioned that the evening we met."

"Oh, yes. Brassly Callowin, his mother and mine are good friends, and Mazy is nice enough, but Brassly has the temperament of a sandpanther. At the time he and Ros were pretty good friends and I still think Ros put him up to it, but when I fell into the fountain and nearly drowned, he realized just how mean Brassly could be and how far he'd go to get rid of the 'pest'. Ros jumped in and saved me."

"How old were you?"

"I think three, maybe four."

"So, has this Brassly gotten any nicer toward you?"

She laughed. "Absolutely not. We can't stand each other, but our dear mothers have this fantasy that we should hook up." She shook her head and added, "They just don't understand that Corell will go nova before that happens."

He laughed at her expression and then asked, "So what happened to Ros's parents? I've been around CorSec enough to know that they were both highly thought of among the old timers."

"Actually, his mother's father was in the force as well. His parents were partnered and that's when they fell for each other. They got married, but chose to remain partners even though CorSec frowns upon that sort of thing. Anyway, when Ros was nineteen and had just entered the Academy, his parents were called off planet to investigate a smuggling ring based on Talus. Well, they never returned. They were caught in an ambush and were both killed."

"That's terrible. No wonder Ros understood what you were going through when your father died."

"Yeah, he really was my rock, and it was that shared experience that cemented our friendship. Before then we were close, but after Dad died we became as close as we are now."

They were quiet for a moment, sitting there and watched the water and listened to the soft, lulling sounds of the gently lapping water on the shore. Finally, she asked, "What's it like being a Jedi?" He looked at her questioningly. "I mean, what can you do? I've read that Jedi can read minds and levitate things great distances, but some of the stories just seem too far fetched. I mean I've read the history of the Sith Wars and all that. But you just seem so normal."

He raised a dark brow and she insisted, "You know what I mean. You don't even wear Jedi robes that much. I've met other Jedi who seemed so aloof that no one could ever touch them. You're so easy going, funny and…" she looked away quickly and stammered, "…and…well…you just seem like a regular guy."

He grinned at her and replied, "I am just a regular guy. I'm a Jedi and I love doing what I do, but I don't like being treated like I'm some sort of god. As for what I can do. I have two abilities that are considered rare among the Order. I can't read minds, but I have a keener sense at detecting feelings and the direction of thoughts."

She stared at him and couldn't help the blush that came over her cheeks. He smiled one of his lopsided smiles that caused her heart to skip a beat. But he didn't say whether he knew what direction her thoughts were going. She wasn't sure she wanted him to know. Part of her did, but another part wanted her feelings for him to remain her secret.

"I also can affect minds easier than most Jedi, even strong minds, by giving them illusions or suggestions. I can absorb large amounts of energy and transfer it back into the Force usually as telekinetic power, which ironically I normally don't have. I can trip a lock and I could possibly move a few of these grains of sand," he ran his hand through the fine mixture beside him, "but other than that I can't move a thing."

"That sounds so fascinating." And she was. She moved closer to him and when he looked up from the sand he was playing in, his eyes burned into her.

They got lost for a long time in each other's eyes. She suddenly couldn't breathe as he seemed to lean toward her. She felt thrilled and afraid all at once. Breathless, she whispered, "Why is it forbidden for Jedi to love?"

-x-

Nejaa was overwhelmed by the sudden desire to kiss her. Then she reminded him why he couldn't. He pulled away, but he couldn't look away. "Because love leads to attachment," he answered in a voice low and husky.

"But why is attachment bad?"

He leaned in again, unable to fight the draw of her full, red lips. "Because attachment leads to selfishness, possessiveness and can lead to anger if something happens those you love, which leads to the dark side."

Her breaths were coming rapidly as she rasped her next argument, "So love is selfish? Grief is wrong? I always thought love was the most unselfish thing a being could do. And grief is part of living."

He was so close now; their lips were only centimeters away. "Scerra…" he murmured and then brushed her lips with his. When she responded by pressing toward him, his arms went around her pulling her to him. Her hands went to his shoulders where they slid around his neck and into his unbound hair. They gazed at each other again. "Scerra…I've never felt like this for anyone."

She smiled and his heart missed a beat, he was sure of it. "Me neither, Nejaa."

"But it's wrong. I can't do this."

"I'm not asking for attachments. No strings, Nejaa. I just want to get to know you and see where this goes. But I don't expect anything that you can't give me." She pulled him closer to her, letting her lips touch his and she gently sucked on the top one. He couldn't stop himself. He began kissing her with a feverish passion. When she let out a moan and slightly opened her mouth under his hungry lips and questing tongue, he deepened the kiss.

They kissed for what seemed like an eternity, then the need for air became too strong. They gasped as they came apart, but they didn't separate. She slowly opened her eyes and graced him with a pleased smile. He returned it and she breathlessly said, "I don't even want to know where a Jedi Master, who admitted to never being on a date before, learned to kiss like that."

He knew he blushed and she kissed him quickly on the lips. After pulling away, she said, "My mother has invited me to a dinner party tomorrow evening. It will be dull and boring, and I really had no intention of going, but would you like to come with me? You can protect me from Brassly Callowin."

He raised an eyebrow and asked amusingly, "Are you asking me out on a date?"

She grinned back. "I suppose I am."

He laughed and said, "Then I accept." He leaned over her again and captured her lips in another fiery kiss.

He suddenly wondered if they would ever make it off the beach that night as he pushed her onto her back to lie on his cape. They kissed until either one of them had the energy to do so again. Then he held her as they lied on his cape, watching the water and stars, and talked about all sorts of things.

By the time the first rays of Corell colored the eastern sky with streaks of orange and gold, Nejaa Halcyon knew that he was in love. And he didn't have a clue as to what he was going to do about it.

* * *

Thanks for reading...


	4. Chapter 4

**_Thanks for reading!!_**

* * *

**_Chapter 4_**

_CorSec Headquarters_

Ros looked at his chrono again and wondered where Nejaa could possibly be. He expected the Jedi Master to be there waiting for him. He lifted the mug of stimaf to his lips, and as he drank, he hoped the stimulant in the caf soon kicked in. He only had thee hours of sleep. He hated pulling double shifts to begin with, but with the adrenalin rush from yesterday morning's trip inside the baron's mansion, he felt more drained than normal from a double shift.

He sat the mug down and stifled a yawn as he looked at the warrant again. He truly was shocked that the judge gave it to them, but the holographic evidence that the painting was in Saffore's possession was something only the most crooked of magistrates could ignore.

Again he glanced at his chorno. "Where is he?" he said to himself.

"I'm sorry if I've kept you waiting."

Ros turned an annoyed expression on the Jedi Master as he sat down in the chair beside his small desk in the cubical that served as Ros's office. Then he looked at Nejaa and said only half teasingly, "Stang, Nejaa, you look as beat as I do."

Nejaa quickly looked away and said, "That's because I only got about an hour or two of sleep."

Ros instantly stiffened. Something in Nejaa's response made him wary. "What exactly did you and Scerra do last night?"

Nejaa looked at him and raised an eyebrow. Ros instantly realized just how jealous his question sounded. He relaxed and laughed at himself. "Then I wonder why over half the force thinks something is going on between us. I'm sorry, Nejaa. I suppose I sometimes get a little overprotective of Scerra."

"I've noticed." Nejaa grinned, then added, "Let me get a cup of caf and I'll ease your mind…at least a little." He stood and picked up Ros's empty cup. "I'll refill yours too, you look like hell."

He returned a moment later with two steaming mugs of the pungent morning necessity. After reclaiming his seat and sipping his mug, Nejaa said, "Scerra and I had dinner at The Mermaid and afterward spent the night on the beach."

"All night?" Ros asked taken aback.

"Yeah." Nejaa took another sip from his cup. "She's an amazing woman. We spent the night talking, and before we knew it, the sun was coming up."

"Just talking, huh?" Ros stared at the Jedi. He knew Scerra was attracted to Nejaa, but he assumed the Jedi Master would never encourage it, despite his own feelings.

"Yes, just talking." Then Nejaa nodded over the top of his mug toward the holographic seal on the official document lying on the top of a stack of flimsy. "Is that the warrant?" he asked, clearly trying to redirect the conversation.

But there was something in the way the Jedi said it that had Ros's mind working overtime. The Jedi was good at deception, but he was a cop and made a career out of seeing through it.

After a moment, he said, "Nejaa, may ask you something?"

Nejaa looked up as he sat his mug down. "Of course."

Ros swallowed, he wasn't exactly sure how he was going to say this without sounding like he had more interest in Scerra then just friendship. He hoped the Jedi was smart enough to realize the truth. "What are your intentions with Scerra?"

"What do you mean?" Nejaa asked smoothly.

"You know damn well what I mean." Crossing his arms over his chest, Ros sat back in his chair and regarded the older man. "You surely see Scerra's attraction to you. And I think you are a more than just a little attracted to her. I don't know the rules for you guys, maybe this sort of thing is allowed, but I thought Jedi didn't marry."

Nejaa grinned and replied, "I hardly think a few dances and dinners, or even one night talking on the beach means we are headed down an aisle."

"No, I suppose not, but I know Scerra. If she's falling for you, she will fall hard and I'd hate to see her get hurt."

Nejaa held his gaze steady and responded, "I don't want her to get hurt either."

"Good then we're in agreement."

Ros than picked up the holographic document and said with a grin, "Now let's go have ourselves an official look at the Baron Saffore's Tyrena estate."

* * *

_Chateau Saffore, on Gold Beach, near Tyrena, Corellia_

This time Nejaa let Ros do the talking, and they didn't walk into the estate of the president of Corellian Engineering, but rather drove up in a CorSec unmarked speeder. The front door opened with the same butler as the day before standing in the opening, but not a hint of recognition appeared on the old man's impassive face.

"Good day, sirs. What may we do for you?"

Ros held out the warrant along with his ID and said authoritatively, "I'm Lieutenant Rostek Horn and this is my associate Jedi Master Nejaa Halcyon. We would like to have a word with the baron, if he's in, if not we would like to have a look around."

The butler read the search warrant, and after seeing the official seal, he motioned for them to enter. "I will inform Baroness Saffore that you're requesting an audience."

"Thank you." Ros looked at Nejaa as they followed the butler into a parlor.

Nejaa had sensed Ros's trepidation when the same butler answered the door. Clearly he expected to be recognized from yesterday. Nejaa gave him a lopsided grin, causing Ros to only shake his head in wonderment.

They waited ten minutes in an elaborately decorated sitting room furnished with the finest couches, chairs and tables all in the best fabrics, leathers and woods. Artwork decorated the walls and low tables, while the color scheme was one of pleasingly happy colors that were to encourage conversation by the occupants of the room. However, they remained stoically quiet as they waited for the lady of the house. Finally, a young woman of probably no more than twenty-five walked into the room.

She smiled at them and it was easy to see why Saffore had married her. She had dark brown hair that hung to her waist in long curls; her eyes were just as dark and were speckled with gold, setting them alive with an inner fire; and her shimmering day gown of deep blue enhanced every curve she possessed. She smiled graciously which truly was her crowning jewel. She was definitely a lovely woman.

"Good day, gentlemen, I'm Baroness Jolana Saffore." As she greeted them, it was also easy to see why she was probably willing to marry a man at least twice her age. Not one of her fingers was without a precious jewel adoring it and around her neck hung an extremely rare multifaceted durindfire gem worth at least a million credits.

"Baroness Saffore, I'm CorSec Lieutenant Rostek Horn and this is my associate Jedi Master Nejaa Halcyon. I'm sorry for this interruption, and we will not take longer than necessary, but we believe you and your husband may have been deceived in a recent purchase of an Alderaanian painting."

As Ros spoke, Nejaa gently probed the woman. It was clear that she didn't know anything, but she was nonetheless surprised; though, considering her youth, she covered well.

"How recent? My husband hasn't bought any paintings in at least half standard year." Jolana gave them a small coy smile and added, "And that one was of me. You are welcome to view if you like; it's in Franses's private study."

"No," Ros said obviously figuring out also just what type of painting the woman's husband would have commissioned, "that's okay. The painting we are looking for is definitely Alderaanian." He looked at Nejaa, who gave him a small nod, then he turned back to the young baroness and added, "Our warrant gives us permission to have a look around. You are free to accompany us, of course. We won't touch anything unless it looks suspicious."

Smiling again at Ros, she said, "I'm confident that you won't find anything, but I'll help show you around the house. I still get lost sometimes and I've been married to Franses for almost a year."

They worked their way through the mansion, going from room to room, pretending to be looking for the stolen painting. Eventually, they made it to the private study of Baron Saffore and Jolana keyed the lock as she turned to Ros. Smiling seductively, she said as she met Ros's eyes, "You'll have the opportunity to see my painting anyway, Lieutenant Horn."

Ros returned her smile and moved to follow her into the room. Nejaa could feel the woman's attraction to the tall CorSec officer, but it was Ros's oblivion to it that caused him to snicker. Ros looked sharply at him and Nejaa only shrugged as he followed him into the library. In the center of the room was a large desk, the walls were lined with shelves holding datastorage containers of every type. A window was directly behind the desk, and directly in front of the desk, over a small stone fireplace, was the painting of Jolana Saffore. She was standing on a stylized beach with the ocean before her as she looked over her bare shoulder at the viewer with an extremely seductive expression in her gold-flecked brown eyes. Her only clothing was a wispy white gauze-like wrap encircling her to cover her most private parts, but it was pretty apparent she was nude and the covering did little but enhance that fact.

Ros stared at the painting for a moment, until she stepped up close to him and said almost too low for Nejaa to hear, "Do you like what you see, Lieutenant?"

Ros quickly looked down at the wife of one of the most powerful men in Corellia, if not the Core, and stammered, "Umm…I…"

"It is a beautiful painting, Baroness, but it isn't the one we're looking for," Nejaa rescued his partner. The young woman looked at him as if she had forgotten about the Jedi, not surprising since all of her attention had been focused on Ros. Ros's expression was one of relief; he finally realized what all the attention to him was trying to accomplish.

"Thank you, Master Halcyon," she said, but was clearly annoyed that Ros wasn't alone. "Well, shall we move on?"

"Yes," Ros said, following her from the room, but not before stealing one more glance back at the painting and grinned. Nejaa raised an eyebrow, maybe the cop was more aware of her attraction then he let on and maybe it was even mutual.

After leaving the study, Ros and Nejaa subtly directed the search. Jolana was becoming bored and her sudden quietness indicated that she realized that her flirtations wasn't going anywhere in trying to seduce the CorSec lieutenant. However, it was also obvious that she didn't realize what was hided in the storage room. She actually was the one to suggest that they look in there first once they reached the appropriate level.

She opened the room and deactivated the security alarms. "This is a storage room that Franses uses to store art in that we haven't decided where to place." She moved into space and made her way around the crates.

Nejaa moved further into the room and found the tripod with the covered painting on. "What's this?" he said as he pointed to it.

She came up beside him. "I don't know. That must be new, but Franses hasn't been home in two months."

"Really?" Ros asked as he stood on the other side of Nejaa.

She smiled again at him, saying, "Yes, he's on Coruscant for business. I've been here all alone."

"I'm sorry to hear about that," Ros said, but looked back at the white drape. "May we have a look under the drape? The size fits the painting we're looking for."

She shrugged. "I suppose. You do have a search warrant, after all. You really don't even need my permission to do anything. I will make sure CorSec is made aware of your courtesy."

Nejaa bowed his head slightly and said," Thank you, Baroness. We are not convinced your husband, or you, have done anything wrong. But we do think the painting is here."

Ros gently lifted the drape, much as he had the morning before, and she gasped in utter shock when she saw the painting. "That's the Prince and Princess of Alderaan!"

Ros looked at her surprised. "Yeah, how did…"

She looked from the painting to Ros. "How do I know them?" she completed his question. Ros nodded and she answered, "Because I'm a distant cousin of Breha's. Most people think I'm related to the Corellian Antilles, but actually my father was Alderaanian." She shook her head and looked back to the painting. "My great uncle was quite put out when this was stolen from him. You mean it was here the whole time?" She all but squeaked as she turned to Nejaa.

Nejaa slowly shook his head and responded, "No. We think the man Baron Saffore has buying art for him is involved. Carvon Mikkels."

She continued to stare wide-eyed at the painting. "Somehow that doesn't surprise me. I never did like him."

"Well, that truly is a shame, Baroness."

All three of them turned to the new voice, Jolana screamed and Ros reached for his blaster. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, CorSec," a powerfully built, middle-aged man said as he stepped further into the room, a small, deadly blaster held in a two-handed grip and pointed directly at them. "Now, nice and easy put your hands in the air."

"Mikkels, what are you doing?" Jolana said after calming herself enough to make a coherent sentence and she raised her arms above her head.

He moved in and easily removed Ros's blaster from its holster. Snarling, Ros said, "Nice hiding place. To bad it wasn't good enough."

He smirked as he backed away, tucking Ros's blaster into his belt, while his blaster was trained on Nejaa. "True. I figured old Saffore had all the judges bought off enough to never get a warrant even on their desks, let alone signed." He stepped before Nejaa as he went on, "But it doesn't matter. It only makes things a slightly more messy. Blood stains are a pain to get rid of."

Nejaa looked at him, and Mikkels waved the blaster threateningly. "Your lightsaber, Jedi."

Nejaa calmly gazed at him as he drew on the Force. "I don't think you require my lightsaber."

For about a second the crook looked profoundly confused. Then he shook his head, "No, I don't need your lightsaber."

In that moment of doubt, Nejaa pulled the weapon in question from under his green robe. Ros, realizing what the Jedi was up to, grabbed the panicked and confused Jolana, pushing her to the tiled floor. Nejaa ignited his silver blade just in time to deflect a blaster bolt heading toward Ros.

Ros tucked and rolled, while Nejaa parried another blast. To confuse things more, Jolana was now screaming uncontrollably with her arms protectively covering her head as she withered on the floor face down. Nejaa pressed forward, deflecting one blast after another into the ceiling of the room. Finally, he had gained enough on him to corner Mikkels against a large create.

"Give up," Nejaa said calmly but determinedly, "You cannot win, and if I'd have wanted you dead, you would have been with the first shot."

Mikkels was desperate and Nejaa knew desperate men did stupid things. "You tricked me!"

"Yes, that is pretty obvious," Ros called from where he crouched beside Jolana, trying to calm her. "Now do what the good Jedi commanded and give up." He stood and came up behind Nejaa.

It was clearly a sign of a trust that startled Nejaa at first. If Nejaa missed any of the shots, Ros could be hit. The realization was enough to spur Nejaa into finishing the fight. In a movement almost to fast to track, the Jedi stepped forward, and with a backhanded twist of his wrist, deflected yet another shot, and in the return swing, sliced through the blaster, taking with it the dealer's trigger finger.

He instantly dropped the blaster and howled in startled pain. Ros quickly moved forward and grabbed him, retrieving his blaster from Mikkel's belt as he spun him around and held him with his arms caught behind him.

"Now, buddy," Ros growled as he pushed him hard against the crate, causing it to tip dangerously to the side. "You are under arrest in the name of Corellian Security." In a smooth motion that slightly surprised Nejaa, Ros applied a pair of binders and added with a smirk, "I hope you enjoy your vacation, Mr. Mikkels. I hear the weather is absolutely fabulous on Kessel this time of year."

* * *

CorSec Headquarters

"So, now you're going to tell me just how you got that holo," said Yarlet Jenaves as he finished reading Ros's report. He pinned the lieutenant and the Jedi with a look that demanded to know.

Ros sighed and glanced at Nejaa, who smiled lopsidedly as he rubbed his chin. "If I tell you it won't change the fact that we caught our art thief and recovered a very valuable painting."

"No, it won't," Yarlet agreed, "but it will give me an idea of just how far above the law you are willing to go."

Nejaa raised an eyebrow in question and Yarlet laughed, "Oh, come on, Master Halcyon, I know you two must have sneaked into the Chateau and got the holo. I just want to know how in the galaxy you managed it."

Nejaa laughed and said, "Okay, you caught us. It was my idea because I knew that I could get us past the personnel and the security cams. How I did that is simple—by using what you all affectionately call Jedi mind tricks."

"Yeah, Cap," Ros grinned at Nejaa, "it turns out Nejaa here is the master of mind tricks."

Yarlet laughed and said, "I'm not sure that makes me feel better or worse about it, but I'm surely glad that you didn't get caught. That would have been difficult to explain." Ros was amazed at how well Janaves was taking this. He was about to make a smart comment about their explanation being that Nejaa put him under a mind trick when the captain's features hardened. Ros knew that expression well. "But if you," he pointed to Ros, "ever do that sort of thing again, I will skin you alive. Do you understand, Lieutenant Horn?"

"Yes, sir."

"And you," he pointed to Nejaa, "if you intend to stay and work with Corellian Securtiy, you will stay within the law. Do you understand, Master Halcyon?"

Nejaa gave him a respectful bow of his head and replied, "Yes, Captain."

"Good!" Yarlet then stood up from behind his desk and came around to stand behind the two younger men. He came up between them and slapped them both on the shoulder. "Now, go have a drink and get some sleep. You both look like hell."

They left the captain's office and headed back toward Ros's cubical. "So, would you like to go down to the Ranto for that drink? Then I'll take you home."

Nejaa glanced at his chrono and then grinned as he said, "Actually, as much as I'd like to razz you about your new girlfriend, I think I'll pass on the drink. I can still get two hours of sleep in before I meet Scerra."

"New girlfriend? I'm not the one needing sleep because I've spent all night on the beach with my dancing partner."

Smirking, the Jedi shrugged and said, "True, but I still can't believe you didn't pick up on her seduction long before the painting."

Ros glared at Nejaa as he gathered his things to leave. "Maybe I was toying with her and just playing dumb."

Nejaa snorted. "Right. But the look on your face when you saw that painting was priceless."

Ros chuckled at himself and admitted as he hoisted the carryall on his shoulder, "Well, I am a red-blooded Corellian man. You can't tell me that you didn't appreciate that painting." Nejaa shrugged and then Ros smirked. "Thanks for the save by the way. As much as I liked the painting, I had no desire of actually seeing the real thing. No matter how red-blooded I may be, becoming Baroness Saffore's latest boy-toy wasn't going to happen."

"Any time, my friend," Nejaa said as they headed out of the office.

"So, you're meeting Scerra. You planning another night on the beach?"

Nejaa glared sideways at Ros and shook his head. "Not exactly. She's invited me to a dinner party at her mother's friend's home. It should be interesting. I hope it's not as dull as she claimed it would be, because I'll fall asleep if it is."

"Let me guess, Mazy Callowin?"

"Yeah. You say that as if I should run in the other direction."

Ros laughed and said, "If I were you, I would."

"That doesn't sound encouraging," Nejaa said as they entered the lift that would take them to the exit.

"I just wish Adelyn would just realize Scerra is a big girl, and for the most part, can take care of herself." As he said it, he glanced at Nejaa and suddenly hoped it was true. He got the feeling Nejaa and his best friend were on a very slippery slope and headed for a mess at the bottom. A mess he hoped wouldn't end up hurting them both.


	5. Chapter 5

**_Thanks for reading everyone...I hope that you enjoy!!_**

* * *

_**Chapter 5**_

_The Callowin Estate, North Coronet City_

Taking a deep breath, Nejaa donned the black leather vest that covered a black tunic. He again wondered where he expected this to go. He tried to meditate on his feelings after leaving Ros at the headquarters, but everything came back to the same conclusion…

He was in love with Scerra.

And he was as much at a loss as he had been that morning after leaving her at her apartment.

After finishing buttoning the vest, he picked up his lightsaber from the dresser top. He looked down at the weapon, which was as much an icon, and debated whether to bring it along or not. It wasn't because he feared that he'd need a weapon with him, but he had decided to forgo his Jedi robes, but should he totally leave his only other identifying symbol behind? He tossed it into the air and effortlessly caught it in his right hand. Choosing to bring it along, he tucked it into his belt and thought about what it meant, not only to him, but to the galaxy he pledged his life to serve.

Suddenly, the door buzzer sounded and he turned away from the mirror over the dresser. His room was small, but comfortable for a Jedi. It had a bed, a computer station with communit, and a dresser. It had a single window that overlooked a flower garden in the enclosed courtyard below, and if he opened it, the fragrance of the lililak vines which climbed the stone walls would waif up to him. Attached was a basic refresher, and he had run of the communal kitchen below in the main level of the boarding house he often stayed at while in Coronet.

He opened the door and had his breath taken away. Scerra stood there dressed in a fitted, sleeveless aquamarine dress that stopped just above her knees and hugged her every curve. The bodice was a low rounded scoop of attached black silk that began at her left shoulder to gather at her right left shoulder where it was adorned with a large faux black and aquamarine Corellian lily. The silk then continued to flow down behind her. Her auburn hair was curled and held back on the right by a smaller lily. While upon her feet she wore high, strappy black sandals. She was absolutely beautiful and Nejaa couldn't help the feelings that over came him.

Of course, he didn't miss that she drank in his attire of all black with as much ardor. His dark hair was pulled back and tied with a leather tie, and his black trousers were tucked into knee high black boots. He wasn't dressed at the height of fashion, but he could sense the affect on Scerra which did little to quail his already raging forbidden emotions.

Finally, her green eyes, which only gleamed brighter from the color of the dress and possibly something less benign, met his and she smirked, "I know the Callowins aren't my favorite people, but I don't think they're dangerous."

As he stepped away from her to collect his cape from the bed, he grinned at her jest and said, "I don't know, Ros told me that I'd be wise to run in the opposite direction as fast as I can. And you did ask me to protect you from Brassly Callowin."

Before his conscious mind had a chance to check his heart, he stepped before her and took her into his arms. Her heals brought her almost to eye level with him, and he easily got lost in the mossy green depths of hers. Her arms encircled his neck and pulled him even closer.

In a smoky voice she responded, "That I did. My very own Jedi protector." Before he could draw back, she captured his lips and he quickly forgot everything else. He opened his lips as her tongue danced over his upper lip and she proceeded to slowly kiss him while his hands stoked her back over the satin of her dress.

She moaned and broke the kiss. Staring at him with passion darkened eyes, she softly said, "I suppose we had better be going."

As much as Nejaa would have preferred staying there, he knew it was wrong. Trying to rein in his desire, he grinned sheepishly and agreed, "I suppose." But he didn't release her; instead he stroked her lightly flushed cheek and whispered, "Sweet Force, you are tempting. How am I to resist?"

She openly gazed at him and evenly replied, "Why resist?"

Shaking his head, he finally drew away from her and chuckled. "I will tell you this, it's becoming harder and harder to do just that." His hand fell onto the lightsaber tucked familiarly in his belt and he was soundly reminded why he had to.

The moment shattered, Scerra smiled and held out her hand. "We don't want to be late. My mother would have a fit."

Taking her hand, he led her out the door, locking it behind him. "Well, we wouldn't want that. Not the best way to make a good first impression."

She looked at him, but didn't comment as she led him out to where her speeder was parked.

They arrived at the large single family home of older design in the lower portion of the posh section of the city known as North Coronet. It was in this area of wealthy business beings, professionals such as doctors, lawyers, engineers, and governmental leaders that Scerra's school was located, it was also where she had grown up. She had told him that Oswel Callowin was a well respected and much sought after lawyer, while his wife, Mazy, worked with her mother as an ship designer for Corellian Engineering.

And their home reflected the extent of their joint income. The house was a sturdy red brick with large windows that probably went from floor to ceiling. The upper story was encircled with a white railed balcony, which was supported by massive white columns. However, as Scerra drove her speeder up the curved drive, Nejaa's attention was drawn to a large fountain in the center of parking area. It appeared to be constructed from a single large piece of Corellian granite. The spot lighting brilliantly played over it, picking out the illuminating crystals that made up the lighter veins of the blood red stone, making it come alive in away the movement of water alone couldn't. Water spewed from the three mouths of a large mythical sea monster that was said to inhabit the deepest, darkest of Corellia's oceans as it appeared to be leaping from the red waves that made up the bowl to collect the water. All in all, it was a beautiful piece of art.

Scerra caught him looking at the fountain and smiled as she killed the repulsors of her speeder, setting it down easily on the pavement. "It's a lot deeper than it looks, trust me."

Looking back, he teasingly asked, "So, is that from where Ros so gallantly saved you after the brute Brassly dunked you?"

She laughed as she popped the hatches. "That's it. I've always hated that stupid monstrosity. Though, I'm not sure I'd ever call Ros Horn gallant, but, in my humble opinion, you've pegged Brassly."

They exited the speeder and he waited for her to come around to his side. There he took her hand again as he grinned and replied, "You know I've never met the man and already I dislike him."

She looked reproachingly at him as they made their way up the walk. "I didn't think Jedi could dislike anyone, just as they can't love anyone."

He laughed heartily and squeezed her hand. "Oh, Scerra Mallane, you are going to be the bane of me. I can see it already."

However, before she could respond, the front door slid open and a silver protocol droid greeted them. "Mistress Scerra, welcome! Why, Mistress Adelyn just commented on your tardiness. Please, come in and follow me." As they moved through the door, Nejaa and Scerra shared an amused glance at each other. Then the droid noticed Nejaa's lightsaber. "Oh, my, Master Jedi, I do not think weapons are needed in the Callowin household!"

They barely suppressed a laugh as she said, "I should hope not, but one never can know when a Jedi protector would be handy to have around."

"Pips, stop haggling my guests," a dusky voice sounded as she entered the receiving hall. As the protocol droid retreated a few steps, Nejaa looked up and was surprised when the mental image from her voice didn't quite match the woman coming toward them. She was petit and slender, dressed in an elegant rose colored pant suit that sported a floor length jacket of creamy white, trimmed at the collar and cuffs in the same rose of her pants and masculine tunic. Her grey streaked black hair was cut very short and her blue eyes burned with good-humor. "Scerra," she said happily as she embraced the younger woman, "I am so glad that you could make it. But, alas, your mother was wondering what was keeping you." Then her eyes came to rest on Nejaa and she smiled knowingly as she stepped back. "Ahh…but I think I can guess. Hello, I'm Mazy Callowin."

Scerra lightly blushed and Nejaa sorely hoped she didn't give them away; so, he quickly held out his hand to take the hostess's and bowed his head as per Jedi custom. "Nejaa Halcyon. Good evening, Madam Callowin, and thank you for graciously opening your home to me. Though, I was born on Corellia, I'm afraid I don't know many people in Coronet, at least, not whom I consider friends. Scerra has become a good friend and doesn't like hearing of me whiling away my hours in Jedi meditation."

She lightly laughed and said, "It's a pleasure to having you." Then she linked her arm around Nejaa's and the other around Scerra's. Leading them toward the salon, she added, "I'm sure you can tell us all some wonderful stories."

Scerra smiled at Mazy, then glanced at Nejaa as she replied, "Yes, I can vouch for that. I'm sure he would love to tell us about how he and Ros caught an art thief this very morning."

"That sounds absolutely fascinating, Master Halcyon."

Nejaa grinned and responded, "All in a days work, Mistress Callowin."

After entering the well appointed salon, Nejaa was struck by how much the older woman who moved toward them resembled Scerra. Her hair was longer and fell about her shoulders in curls, but it was the same vibrant auburn. She was dressed in a long, simple gown of pale yellow and Nejaa noticed that her eyes were the same jade color. Mazy let go of his and Scerra's arms and moved away and the other woman took Scerra in a short embrace and said, "I'm so glad that you decided to show. I was beginning to wonder."

"Hello, Mother. You know that I wouldn't fall back on my word."

Mazy ignored mother and daughter and announced to the others who were present in the room, drawing his attention from them as well. "This is Scerra's friend, Jedi Master Nejaa Halcyon."

Nejaa inclined his head in a brief bow and smiled as his eyes came to rest on an older, distinguished man who came to stand beside Mazy. He held out his hand and they shook hands as he said, "Oswel Callowin, Esquire, it is a pleasure to finally meet one of our galaxy's 'Guardians of Light'. Welcome, Master Halcyon. When Scerra called to tell us she was bringing her Jedi friend, I was delighted."

Before Nejaa had a chance to respond, Scerra said as she hugged the older man warmly, "Nejaa was happy to come, Uncle Oswel." Then she turned to her mother and said to Nejaa, "This is my mother, Adelyn Mallane."

Nejaa smiled his best smile and greeted the mother of the woman he loved. "I've heard a great deal about you, Mrs. Mallane."

"Oh, I'm sure you have," she said as she smiled and shook his hand. "Scerra's opinions of me are well known. But I'm happy to finally meet Scerra's mysterious friend."

Nejaa fought the urge to glance at Scerra and instead smiled and assured, "Well, I can assure you I've heard nothing but good things. I was looking forward to finally meeting you too."

The evening turned out to be rather pleasant. Dinner was served shortly after their arrival and was a delicious fare of roasted nerf, delicately flavored vegetables and seasoned sweet tubers. It was then all topped off with a delectable dessert of chocolate cake, and all served with various fine wines and liquors. Nejaa told them what he could of his latest adventures and found a receptive audience in the family and friends gathered. Besides the older Callowins and the Mallanes, another couple was present who were partners with Oswel in the same law firm. Brassly was also present and was strategically placed beside Scerra. However, their apparent dislike for each other and constant rapier sharp comments that bounced between them was another source of amusement for everyone. All in all, the evening passed by quickly and was anything but dull. The food was wonderful, the wine free flowing and the conversation good, and by the end of the night, Nejaa felt completely content and happy to have come along.

Scerra hugged everyone good night and was instructed to come around for a visit and to not wait too long. Nejaa was surprised to receive the same send off. Once they were safely inside Scerra's speeder she turned to him and smiled. "You were the life of the party, do you realize that? Everyone loved you, including my mother."

He returned her grin, but his voice was serious as he said, "I enjoyed myself tonight. I like your friends, Scerra. They are good people who I think would do anything for you."

She gazed ahead as she moved the speeder down the drive. After a moment, she quietly agreed, "Yes, I've been blessed, I suppose." Then she looked at him and there was something profound there that, even in the dim light of the interior of the speeder, she couldn't hide. "In others, I've been cursed."

He felt her swirling emotions and realized that her last comment was directed at him and the impossibility of them ever being more than friends. "Scerra, I think we need to talk—about us."

"What's there to talk about?" she asked as she headed back toward the center of town. "You're a Jedi. I understand that, Nejaa. I saw how you quickly came to the rescue tonight every time someone suggested that there could be something more than friendship between us. What I can't understand is what that means for me."

Nejaa took a deep breath and let it out by saying, "Scerra…" But whatever else he was going to tell her was lost and turned to ashes in his mouth. This was going to be the hardest thing he had ever done.

Suddenly, she stopped the speeder and leaned over the control yoke. The silence stretched between them, then she straightened and looked at him with determination in her eyes. "Okay, Nejaa, we'll talk, but we're going back to my apartment. I probably won't be able to drive after you break my heart," she whispered, and Nejaa's own heart ached from the pain in the words.

They hadn't admitted their feelings toward each other, but he could feel her love for him as clearly as he felt his own for her, and it all served to make what he had to do more difficult.

She reentered the light traffic and headed toward the high-rise apartment district that was west of North Coronet. They traveled in silence, neither knowing what to say, and, yet, they both had volumes to tell each other. Scerra pulled her speeder into the garage and then led him to her apartment. Again they continued the brittle silence between them. Finally, they came to her door, she entered the code to open it, and he followed her in.

The lights came up, but she dimmed them back to a soft light that did nothing to soften the heaviness of Nejaa's heart. She turned to him and gestured toward the couch as she said, "Have a seat. I'll make us some caf."

After removing his cape and throwing it over the chair she had tossed her hand bag, he sat down heavily on the comfortable repulser couch, but he didn't feel its softness. His mind and heart were a jumble of conflicting emotions, but, as he listened to Scerra in the kitchen, one feeling above all else came rushing to him.

_I can't break her heart. I love her too much._

Suddenly, a _thump _on the couch beside him caught his attention. He looked down and into a pair of sulfuric acid colored eyes that would have put the Sith from legend to shame. "Hello, there," he said as he reached over and scratched behind the spukamas' pointed ears. He _meowed_, proceeding to rub his head and body on Nejaa's arm. Nejaa smiled at the cat's antics and allowed him to hop into his lap where he circled around before settling down to begin purring.

"He likes you." Nejaa glanced up to find Scerra carrying two steaming mugs of caf. She sat down on the space vacated by her pet and handed Nejaa one of the cups. "I hope you don't mind, I took the liberty of adding a bit of Whyren's Reserve."

Reaching over with her free hand, after Nejaa took the proffered mug, Scerra stroked the lump of humming black fur in his lap. "I've never seen Chuckles warm up to strangers so soon. Usually he's very anti-social when it comes to visitors, except those he knows."

She looked up from the pet, meeting his eyes. He held her gaze captive and said reverently, "It's the Force. Often animals can sense it in people and find comfort in it, even if the animal isn't really Force-sensitive."

She pulled her hand away and wrapped it around her hot mug. She took a long sip from it and then looked over at him. "What's going on with us, Nejaa?"

He patted the spukamas and said softly, "I don't know." Then he met her vibrant eyes again and added huskily, "I've never been in love before."

-x-

Scerra stared at him. The meaning of his words falling soundly on her as the liquid warmth from the whisky in her caf hit her stomach and spread through her. _Or is it something else causing me to feel so warm all of a sudden?_

"Do you mean that?" she whispered breathlessly.

Nejaa sat his untouched mug on the end table and in the sudden movement Chuckles mewed indignantly as he hopped off his lap. Turning to her again, he gently answered, "I've fallen in love with you, Scerra."

She sat her mug on the table beside her and then turned to take his hands. Smiling, she said, "I love you, too, Nejaa. I think I fell for you from the very first moment I laid eyes on you. You are so unlike any man I've ever known."

"But I shouldn't feel like this for you," Nejaa's voice broke at the end the statement. "But I can't stop it and I don't want to break your heart." He brushed his fingers along her jaw and wiped the tears that leaked from her eyes with his thumbs as he cupped her face. "It kills me to feel the pain it's causing you."

She trembled at his touch, making a decision that took her by complete surprise, but she had never been more sure of anything in her life, as she murmured, "Stay with me tonight. I don't want to be alone."

He stared at her as he continued caressing her cheeks, drying her silent tears. "Scerra, I can't do that."

"Why not?" she asked in a stronger, more determined voice. "You, yourself, told me Jedi aren't required to be celibate. And I understand that our love is forbidden, that…that you can never truly belong to me." She brought her hands to his face and cupped it, relishing the slight roughness of his jaw. "But, as I also told you last night, I'm not asking for strings, Nejaa, I'm only asking for your love."

His voice was husky as he whispered, "I can't ask you to be my lover—my mistress, Scerra, you deserve more than that. You deserve a man who can commit totally to you."

"I don't care about commitment, Nejaa, I'm willing to be your lover, if it means having some small part of you," she affirmed and leaned in to wrap her arms around his neck. Her fingers pulled on the leather tie that bound his long hair, and as she let the string fall forgotten on the couch, she threaded her fingers through his thick, dark locks. She had discovered his long hair last night on the beach as they shared passionate kiss after passionate kiss. She knew he had pulled back then because his desire was running away from him as it had her. They hadn't spoke of it, but she knew that had they been anywhere other than a public beach they would have made love.

He let his hands roam down her long, slender neck and down until they grasped her firmly around the waist. As his lips connected with hers, he pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her. Not caring about the wrinkles being creased into her dress as it bunched up around her thighs, she straddled his legs and pressed herself against his hard torso. She let out a soft moan as his hungry tongue grazed her lips. She opened her mouth to him, and he quickly sought out her tongue. They dueled as she imagined two duelists would, until he sucked in her tongue into his mouth, holding it as much a captive as he did her heart.

She felt him tremble and she could feel the affect she was having over him as he pulled her even closer. She moaned again and finally he broke the amazing kiss. Her mind was a tornado of feelings and thoughts, but one thing feed the torrent, being her overwhelming desire. She threw back her neck and Nejaa quickly took the invitation. His hot mouth found her pulse at the side of her neck, and she thought she would melt as he caressed the racing beat with his lips and tongue.

"Oh…" she breathed as her hands found the hard muscle hidden under his tunic. His hands also seemed to have minds of their own as one roamed over her soft curves, while the other fund the zipper in the back of her dress. She felt it move downward ever so slowly. When it got to her waist, he slipped a hand under the fabric to lightly touch the satin skin of her back.

Again he was kissing her, causing her head to buzz and her heart to race as it never had before. She was no virgin, but she had never had a man affect her like he did. Before she comprehended what happened, her dress was pushed off her shoulders and the bodice bunched around her hips and waist as much as the skirt was. His lips moved down from hers, and she let her head drop back as he set her skin on fire with his feathery soft touch.

Finally, she had to have him; she had to touch him as he was her. She sat up, causing him to meet her gaze with dark, wanton eyes. "Nejaa…please…take me to bed. I need you…I love you."

He smiled wickedly and replied, "I think that is a wonderful idea." He held her tightly, and in a graceful move that she had never expected, he easily stood up. She wrapped her legs around his waist, crossing her ankles behind him.

She pointed toward the short hallway that lead to her bedroom as she said, "It's the first door on the left."

No other words were exchanged as he carried her through the great room of her apartment and through the door of her room. She commanded the lights to come on to their lowest setting. She wanted to make sure she could see this beautiful, strong man making love to her. He didn't stop until she felt herself being laid back onto her mattress. She watched him enthralled as he removed her sandals and then pulled the dress over her hips and off.

She suddenly became extremely aware of her state of undress as his eyes drank her in as she lay there clad only in her underwear. However, he immediately evened the score when his eyes finally met hers again. Before she had a chance to appreciate watching him undress, he was beside her with less on than she had.

Again his hands and lips claimed her body, and she thought she couldn't get enough of his toned, corded physique with her own, or enough of his warmth or musky scent. However, after leaving her breathless and on the edge of bliss, he covered her. He looked down into her eyes, his weight supported by one strong arm and he whispered, "Open your mind to me, my love."

"What—what do you mean?" she gasped as his free hand played over her again.

"Don't think about anything but us—about what you're feeling. Let me in willingly." He kissed her then as she did what he requested, and suddenly, she was overwhelmed by sensations and passions that she knew were not hers. She gasped loudly as she broke away from his hungry lips.

"Nejaa! Ohhh…" She had never experienced anything like it. She could almost see his thoughts, his wants, his fears. "Nejaa, what's happening?"

He leaned down and quieted her whimpering question with his kisses. Then he whispered in her hear, "I've allowed us to bond. I can feel your emotions just as acutely."

She gently pushed him away so that she could look into his face. "What do you mean?"

He smiled tenderly and used his non-supporting hand to touch her cheek gently. "We've bonded. It usually only happens anymore between Masters and Apprentices, and then only marginally, depending on the relationship between them. But in the ancient Order, when marriage was allowed, the deepest bonds happened between two people in love. And, with love as their link, bonding can even happen between a Jedi and a non-Force user. I wanted to share everything with you, Scerra." He paused for a moment and gazed deeply into her eyes. "I love you." Then he groaned and leaned down to kiss her again, but before he claimed her lips, he murmured, "Sweet Force, I want you."

And she freely gave to him everything she had.


	6. Chapter 6

**CeresMcClure:** Thanks!! I'm glad that you enjoyed it… Okay about the pace of their relationship…it is moving fast, but actually a little over a month of time has gone by in the story and they have seen a great deal of each other, only with Ros present. As for the bond, it was soon, but I meant it to be so. Nejaa wasn't really thinking at the moment, his heart was. I hope you will see that in the next chapter. Thanks again for reading and commenting.

**Jade405:** Thank you! I'm a huge Corran fan and I love exploring his kids. So, going back and exploring his grandparents has been fun, especially trying to make it fit in with the current canon. Thanks for reading and commenting…I hope you continue enjoying it.

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**_Chapter 6_**

_Scerra Mallane's Apartment_

Awareness came slowly to him as he felt the soft warmth shift in his arms. A gentle sigh left her lips and feathered across his bare chest. Her small hand rested curled on his abdomen, while the crown of her head fit perfectly in the space under his chin, and her auburn hair a riot around her face. Instinctively, Nejaa tightened his hold on her. He had never in his life awakened with a woman still lying in his arms in the morning. He wasn't an innocent, but his experience certainly never had the emotional attachment love brings to it. He suddenly felt like a young man again, but, then, last night was like nothing he had ever experienced in his life.

She moaned again in her sleep as if she was beginning to awaken. He glanced at the chrono; it wasn't early, but he had no intention of letting her awaken yet, not after the night they had shared. _Sweet Force, did we really make love that many times?_ he thought whimsically and smiled as he remembered. No, she needed all the sleep she could get. _Force knows she didn't get much of it last night._

He gently smoothed her hair and touched the Force, sending her further into her dreams. She burrowed deeper into him and her soft snores tickled him. However, the amusement was replaced with reality. He sighed and continued stroking her silky hair. _How am I ever going to walk away from you, Scerra? How am I ever going to continue being a Jedi after what we have between us?_

He didn't have the answers to those questions. If anything, the answers were farther away from his grasp now than they had been earlier. But not only was he in love with the angel in his arms, he had bonded with her. He still didn't know what possessed him to do that. It just felt like the right thing to do. However, bonding with her made leaving her almost impossible. He could severe the bond, just as easily as he formed it, but to do so would cause them both pain, maybe not physical pain, but emotional pain.

He had to leave later to take the stolen painting back to Alderaan and then he would go to Coruscant to meet with the Jedi Council. He was dreading that meeting. He suspected someone would feel his bond with Scerra. He'd have to be careful to hide it under layers of shields, along with his love for her and his sudden fear of losing her.

He shifted enough to look down into her face. _Is this fear why the Order forbids attachment? I could never lose you, Scerra. I know it would destroy me._

That was when he realized he couldn't ever walk away from her. She was now and forever part of his life, a part of his soul.

And that meant only one thing—

_I have to leave the Order._

Amazingly, that thought, which had never occurred to him before, didn't frighten him. He wrapped her up in both arms, realizing that what did scare him more than anything else ever had was living his life without her.

"I don't want you to be my lover or my mistress, Scerra. I want you to be my wife," he whispered into her soft red hair.

-x-

Scerra awakened with a smile on her lips as the aromas of sausage met her. She opened her eyes to find Nejaa standing at the door of the bedroom, leaning against the frame with is arms crossed over his well toned chest, watching her. He was dressed in only his trousers from the night before, his dark, almost black, hair hung around his shoulders.

"Good morning, beautiful," he said with a grin.

She sat up and ran her hand through her mussed hair. She glanced at the chrono and nearly jumped out of bed. "11:00! How could you let sleep half the day away?"

He laughed; it was a low rumble that was sensual in of itself. _Force, does the man really haven't any idea what he does to me? _

He said lightly and with only a hint of male smugness, "I figured you'd appreciate me letting you sleep in."

She blushed, and pulled the sheet closer around her, but she didn't take her eyes from his as she challenged, "Well, what about you? Or don't Jedi need sleep?" Then she inquired, "I thought you were going to Alderaan today."

He pushed off the frame and moved into the room with the grace of a sandpanther. "I slept and then I meditated for a while. As for leaving, that can wait until tomorrow. You don't have school today and I wanted to spend the day with you." He came to stand beside her and she stood, forgetting about the sheet and wrapping her arms around his neck. His eyes raked over her and he groaned low in his throat. Pulling her close, he kissed her passionately. Finally, he left her lips, and smiling lopsidedly, he said, "I think I should let you get dressed. Breakfast, or rather, lunch is almost ready."

"What if I want you for breakfast?" she grinned wickedly.

He raised an eyebrow. "Ummm…as much as that sounds…delicious…I think real food is called for. I know I'm starved." Then he grinned again with that male conceit of a man who knows he's well loved and loves well as he added, "I've had a busy night."

"That you did!" She laughed and pulled him down for another quick kiss. "I love you, Nejaa Halcyon."

"I love you." He kissed her forehead and she could feel his struggle not to give into his desire. Finally, he pulled away from her and smiled. "I think I definitely should let you get showered and dressed."

Suddenly, she exclaimed, "Chuckles! The poor boy is probably starving."

"I've taken care of him. He loves sausage and eggs, by the way. I found his food in the cabinet, but he didn't want it. So, I gave him what we're going to eat. He hasn't left my side since. I think he and I will become quite good friends."

She stared at him, beginning incredulously, "How did you know…" Nejaa only met her with a grin. Shaking the idea that he could read her cat's mind from her head, she said instead, "I hope he doesn't get sick. I never give him people food."

His dark eyes twinkled with mischief. "I did leave the spice off, of course; he didn't think he'd like that." She openly looked shocked and then she realized that he was teasing her. Her eyes narrowed, causing him to chuckle. He added, "As long as the food's bland, it won't harm him. Trust me."

She didn't look or sound convinced as she pulled shorts and a tank top from a drawer. "I hope you're right. Or, Master Jedi, you are cleaning up the mess," she declared and wagged a finger at him. "I can't believe I almost thought that you could read his mind!" He only laughed and left to return to the kitchen.

Then she heard a _meow _and Nejaa said between sniggers, "Yep, Chuckles, you and I are going to be great friends, aren't we?" The spukamas _meowed_ again as if he was answering the question. She could almost hear the cat say _yes_, then realized that it was Nejaa in her head.

This whole bond thing was still new to her, but she had to admit she loved being so close to him. It went beyond just love and intimacy, and into a realm she could not even name, or could ever had fathomed before last night.

She laughed, shook her head and thought, _Very funny. One thing is for sure: life with you will definitely be interesting._

_You better believe it, my love._

As she pulled a tank top over her head, she came out into the dining area to find him setting plates laden with sausage and Corellian seasoned eggs. He stood and gestured to the simple fare. "It's not much, but you sure don't keep much in the place."

She ran her fingers through her damp hair and sat down. With a critical eye to the food before her, she said, "It's normally just me eating. So, no, I guess I don't keep much around."

He sat down and poured caf from a carafe into each of their mugs. She finally said, "I'm impressed actually. Does this taste as good as it smells?"

He shrugged and picked up his mug. "I'll be the first to admit my ability in the kitchen is pretty limited. If it isn't a ration bar, I'm mostly at a loss. But I can cook eggs and sausage, and a few other things," he added with a smile.

He took a sip of his caf as he intently watched her. She realized that he was waiting for her to eat first. She took the fork and took a bite of the eggs. Her eyes went wide from surprise.

"This is perfect! I was afraid that you'd make them too spicy. I know you like things hot enough to burn your tongue off."

He laughed, sat his mug down and picked up his fork. "I suppose I do like my food a bit on the hot side. I remember this one time my Padawan took a bite off my plate. He never did that again, that's for sure." They both laughed and then dug in and eat with relish.

After they finished, Scerra cleared their plates. She found him in the sitting area of the common room flipping through a holocube. She came up behind him and wrapped her arms around him. He had put his shirt back on before she came out of the bedroom, but he hadn't closed it. She slipped her hands over his hard abdomen and smiled against his back when she felt him shudder at her touch.

In a serious tone that took her aback, he said, "You look so much like your mother. But you have your father's nose and chin. No wonder you're so beautiful, you have good looking parents."

"Thanks," she knew she was blushing; she always blushed when he told her she was beautiful. "And who do you resemble? That is if you know."

He turned within her arms and cupped her face. Softly he replied, "I look a lot like my mother. At least, I have her eye and hair color. Though, my great-grandfather once told me before he died when I was a boy that he thought I looked like his father, who was also sired by a Halcyon Jedi," he added with a sly smile.

"Seems to me that you Halcyon Jedi don't like following the rules," she observed. Then with a wicked grin, she added, "Or, I could be cruder, but I think last night speaks for itself."

He chuckled, but to her it sounded weighed down, as if he had something on his mind. "I suppose you could say both situations are true. My Master used to tell me that I'd be the death of him because of my obstinacy."

"I think I'm beginning to see that."

Then he lost his smile and gazed deeply into her eyes. She thought he could see clear down into her soul. Then he spoke, the emotion she felt in his voice made her tingle. "Scerra, I love so much. You have become part of me." He caressed his thumbs over her cheeks. "I know we've only known each other for a little more than a month, but I swear I'll never want anyone but you." He gently kissed her eyes and whispered as she opened them again, "I hope our children have your eyes. You have such striking eyes. The color green is so clear and bright."

She gasped at his words. Her heart raced. She hadn't ever let herself think about having his children. She had convinced herself that he'd never want them. Quietly she stammered, "Nejaa…I…want us to have kids too, but how is that possible?"

He smiled as he silenced her by placing his fingertips on her mouth. "I won't be like my ancestors. I want my children to know I'm their father. I want them to be legitimate, not just acknowledged by me and given my name. I want to marry you, Scerra. When I go back to Coruscant I'm resigning from the Order. You mean everything to me and I can't live without you."

She felt the hot wetness on her cheeks before she realized she was crying. She wanted to say yes, she wanted him to stay with her forever. She wanted every day to be like today. She wanted him to be hers, and only hers. She would have lied to herself if she didn't admit that she wanted to marry him and had wanted to do so since realizing she loved him. She wanted as much of him as she could have. But she knew he wasn't, nor would he ever be totally hers. She felt him there with her and watched as his eyes narrowed slightly. He knew what she was thinking.

And that was why she couldn't agree to this.

"No, Nejaa," the words were soft and reedy. She felt his pain. Yes, she could feel his emotions. And it made her almost give in totally to him. She brought her hands up to his face and held him there before he could pull away. She pulled him down for a tender, reassuring, loving kiss.

"Scerra, I know you love me. I know you want to marry me as much as I do you. I don't understand…"

She kissed his lips again to stop his words. Then she said, "I do want to marry you. But I cannot let you leave the Jedi, Nejaa. I can't."

"But I have to resign if we are to marry."

She shook her head. "You would be miserable if you left the Jedi. You had told me the other night that I glow when I talk about teaching. That is how you are when you talk about the Jedi. Nejaa, do you think I don't know why you wore your lightsaber last night to Mazy's?" She paused but not long enough to allow him to answer. She caressed his temple, relishing the feel of the silky hair there. "You wanted reminded that you are a Jedi. That lightsaber is apart of you. The Force is apart of you. What would you possibly do if you leave the Jedi Order?"

He blinked and she realized that he hadn't thought about it beyond his decision to leave. She felt her heart ache, knowing that she would forever have to share him with the Jedi, but at least she would have him some of the time. But more importantly, he would be happy when he was with her. If he left all that he is for her, she feared he'd come to resent her. And that would be far more painful than sharing him ever could be.

"I could work for CorSec," he finally answered.

Her smile was brittle and she chided, "And what will happen the next time you decide to sneak into a home of someone to gather evidence, using Jedi tricks to get past the people living there?" At his look of surprise she added, "Oh, I know all about your little escapade the other day. Ros told me. You scared the hells out of him. He thought for sure his career would be over."

"By doing what I did, we solved the case in probably half the time it would have taken otherwise. We knew the painting was there."

"But you broke the law to get that evidence, Nejaa. But Jedi can do that. You, as a group, have always lived above the law, or bend it to fit your ideas." At his suddenly offended expression, she smiled and soothed the frown away with her fingers. "Please, don't take what I'm saying badly, for I don't mean it in that way. Yes, you solved the case. You may have even saved time and money in man-hours by doing what you did, you may have even saved lives, but that doesn't change the fact, if you had been a CorSec officer you would have been punished for what you did. Ros is actually lucky Yarlet Jenaves respects him so much, or he'd been in trouble for going along with you."

"I trusted the Force," he whispered.

She smiled and agreed, "Yes, that is what a Jedi does, but not the rest of us. Nejaa, asking you not to be a Jedi would be like taking your eyes from you. And I cannot let you do that for me. If I did, I wouldn't love as much as I do. You tell me that I mean everything to you, well, you mean as much to me. I do wish we could marry, but I'm willing to live as your lover. It doesn't matter to me, as long as you come to me when you can. I will have to share, that's all."

His eyes were filling with tears, but he blinked them away. She could feel his indecision, but she could also feel his love. It was so odd to be allowed to feel another's emotions and was surprised that he was sharing them with her, but she was glad too. Finally, he said, "I still want to marry you."

She felt her heart skip a beat and then hesitantly asked, "What if we married in secret?"

Her quiet question shocked him in its simplicity. "No one could ever know. It would bring censure to both of us if it ever got out. Only our closest and most trustworthy family and friends could ever know. Could you live like that?"

Her heart leapt because he didn't refute the idea out of hand. "And my being your lover would be any different? Nejaa, I know I told you that there wouldn't be any strings between us, but I think you know that is impossible now. I never dreamt that I could love someone as much as I do you. And this bond we have…It's like nothing I've ever experienced before. It is so wonderful. I trust you like I've never trusted anyone. It's almost like you are really my other half. Is that too ridiculous a concept? Considering a month and a half ago I wondered if I'd ever find someone to fall in love with? Then you walked up to my table at the Ranto. I know I fell in love with you then. I felt as if I was a magnet and you were a piece of durosteel."

She was breathless at the end and his kiss only made her more so. After breaking it, he said, "Then marry me, Scerra. To the Corellian Hells with the rest. I wish you would let me resign the Order, but I do understand what you mean. I will always be a Jedi. I can't change that. I would still follow the will of the Force no matter what. But if I'm ever assigned for long periods of time away from Corellia, I will leave. I will not live away from you. I can't do it."

She then slipped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a feverish kiss. Gasping, he chuckled as he pulled away, "Is that a yes, you'll become my wife?"

"Yes, Nejaa, I will become your wife." She smiled as she added, "I think we need to celebrate our engagement."

"Oh?"

"In secret, of course. And very privately."

"I like that plan." He wrapped his arms around her and she felt his hand go under her tank top, pushing it upward. He kissed her lips, and then her neck. Finally, he paused at her ear as he pulled her even closer. He whispered huskily, "I even think it may go on into the wee hours of the morning."

"Oh, that would be most definitely good," she said as she turned her head to allow him access to the spot behind her ear that she loved for him to nibble on. He began to comply and she managed to push his shirt off his shoulders when she heard the swish of the door, but she was too far gone in the sensations of his touch and the happiness between them to pay it any attention—

Until a shocked voice rang out as loudly in the room as a turboblaster from a warship. "Oh, shivit! I…I'm...I've been trying to call you two all day! Don't you ever answer your messages?"

Nejaa chuckled against her neck and looked up over her shoulder. "Hello, Ros. It's nice to see you, but you really need to learn to ring the bell. I'm sorry about the missed calls, but we've been too preoccupied to check our comlinks."

Scerra had never wanted the floor to swallow her up as badly as she did right now. Ros was still floundering like a fish out of water, and Nejaa was having far too much fun causing him more embarrassment. After a few more unintelligent sounds, Ros said, "What the _kriff_ is going on?"

At that she lost it and leaned into Nejaa and laughed. Nejaa just deadpanned, "Exactly."

Scerra looked over her shoulder in time to see her best friend's face turn the brightest shade of red she had ever seen it precisely before he vanished through the door, closing it. She then heard the lock reset as Ros reentered the code to lock the door.

She looked up into Nejaa's laughing face and snickered. She should have been furious with him, but she was too amused by Ros's reaction and Nejaa's quick thinking banter. "That was horrid!"

"Serves him right for barging in here. Of course, if he'd been only a few moments later…"

She swatted him on his bare chest and declared, "Stop! I'm embarrassed enough as it is. Gods! How am I ever going to face him again?"

"You will." Suddenly, she found herself swept up into his arms. "But I think we should move this celebration into the bedroom."

She laughed as he carried her through the common room. "An excellent idea."


	7. Chapter 7

**R2-D2106**…Thanks for reading….

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_**Chapter 7**_

_Ros Horn's Apartment_

The blaring of the door buzzer brought Ros reluctantly out of a dream that he really wanted to see through to the end. It buzzed again and he forced an eye open to look at the chrono—0530 blinked mockingly at him.

The blasted buzzer sounded again. _Kriff!_

There was only one person in the galaxy that insistent.

He whipped the dark sheet off his lanky frame and sat up. Dressed in only a white tee-shirt and dark green CorSec issued gym shorts, he made his way out of his bedroom, through the messy living room, and to the door. Scrubbing his hand over his stubbly face, he opened the door.

Scerra stood there with her finger poised over the buzzer. "If you hit that vapin' thing one more time, I'm not responsible for what I'll do to you."

She dropped her hand and shrugged. Smiling innocently, she said, "I'm sorry, I know how hard it is for you to get out of bed."

He moved out of the way and let her enter, the door swooshing closed behind her. He turned and said dryly, "Yeah, especially when I only got there three hours ago."

For about a second she actually looked contrite. But then she smiled that mischievous grin and he knew he was going to regret something.

"Hot date?"

He had to smile, she just opened herself up and she didn't realize it at first. When she did, she instantly lost the grin and looked away. "Not as hot as yours, I'm afraid. I'm glad that I wasn't a moment later the other day."

Her blush was nearly as dark as her hair. "I'm glad that you weren't a minute later either. Sweet Force, I never was so embarrassed in my life. Talking about sex with you is one thing, but being caught just shy of the act is quite another."

"Yeah," he swallowed and turned away. The last thing he wanted to think about right now was the sight of her nearly undressed in the arms of another man. He sobered then and said, "Scerra, what's going on?"

She didn't look at him, but she moved over to the worn couch and sat down. On the low table before was Ros's collection of holomags—_Horticulturist Monthly, Criminal Justice Today, Galaxy Sports_. She made a show of thumbing through them.

Ros sat down on the chair across from her, leaning over his knees with hands clasped together. He waited, knowing she'd eventually talk or she wouldn't be here at this unnatural hour to begin with. He could guess it had to do with Nejaa. He had left for Alderaan yesterday afternoon to return the stolen painting back to the royal family.

Finally, she held up a plant holomag datachip and asked, "So, how's the plant hobby going?"

"Fine. I was studying for an exam that I have tonight. That's why I was up late," Ros answered. He had always loved plants. His grandmother had a beautiful garden full of flowers. He had been taking horticultural and botany classes at the university for the past three years. He would never give up CorSec, but his dream was to someday be able to develop his own hybrids.

"Oh…" she laid the disk down and took a deep breath. Sitting back on the old couch she closed her eyes and softly said, "I'm in love with him."

Ros nodded even though she wasn't looking at him. "I figured that much. You wouldn't sleep with him if you weren't."

She met his gaze then and he went on to add, "Question is what does the good Jedi Master feel for you?"

She sat up and sighed. "He loves me."

"I thought they couldn't love."

"They aren't supposed to," she agreed as she stood up and moved over to the apartment's only window. She gently touched a delicate sky blue flower of one of Ros's many plants that somehow he kept alive in the small, windowless apartment. "This is pretty…"

"Yeah, I'm glad that I got it to bloom. It's my first hybrid." He watched her as she gave the plant more attention than his flowers usually commanded from her. "But you haven't really answered my question."

As she continued to look at the flower and her finger twirled in a curl by her ear, she responded quietly, "But he does. Says that it's not uncommon actually. His great-grandfather was a Jedi and his grandfather before him." She turned and looked at Ros, pausing as if she was trying to decide if she wanted to tell him something. He could always tell when she was indecisive. She was playing with a lock of her hair. "Ros, if I tell you something you have to promise never to say anything to anyone else."

He sat up and watched her as she sat before him again on the couch. "You know I would never tell anyone anything you tell me. You know that, Scerra." She nodded and he still could see the indecision in her green eyes.

_Kriff, what the hells did that Jedi do to her?_

He liked Nejaa, it was hard not to, but he couldn't help the bit of jealousy that suddenly pinched his heart. He and Scerra had always been close. So much so, that she asked him about what to expect for her first time with a boy and he was honest with her. She was only seventeen and the boy in question was her first love. It about broke his heart to listen to her talk about Dak Karlson in that girly, half-worshiping way for almost a year. Then her dad was killed and Dak turned out to be an idiot without a stitch of compassion. She no longer wanted to give him what he wanted and he suddenly had no time for her or her overwhelming grief. Ros was there for her when she was twenty, in college, and thought she was pregnant to another man who wasn't worth her time. He had been the one who held her hand through the medical appointment that relieved them both when the blood test confirmed that she wasn't. No one even knew about that. He knew her deepest, darkest secrets. Now that she was suddenly unsure about telling him anything concerning Nejaa Halcyon, it frightened him. Had he been replaced?

"I know, Rostek," she quietly responded. "It's just…Oh, kriff!" She ran her hand through her hair. And Ros was instantly on alert. First, she called him by his full name, second she swore, another thing she never did. Then she looked up at him with that determined half-frown and declared, "Nejaa and I are getting married when he comes back from Coruscant."

Ros sat back stunned. "Married? But…but…"

"Yes, married. But you have to promise never to tell anyone, Ros. Do you promise?"

Shaking his head, he was still grasping what she was telling him. He wasn't sure if it was because of the sudden sharp ache in his heart, or the fact that he didn't think it was possible. "Wait…I thought Jedi couldn't get married. Is he quitting the Jedi? I didn't think that was possible either."

She sat on the edge of the couch as if she was ready to bolt. "Ros, promise me."

He stared at her. Nodding slowly, he agreed, "I promise."

She took a deep breath and sat back more comfortably into the sofa. "No, Nejaa isn't quitting the Jedi. I won't let him. I know he'd be miserable if he did. But we can't live without each other either. I know it won't be easy. I may go years without seeing him if the Jedi Council decides to pull him from Corellia, but I'm willing to take that chance. I was willing to be his lover, but he wants to marry me. Ros, I love him so much and he did this thing and now we're _bonded_. I don't know how to describe it. But it's like he's a part of me and I'm a part of him. Even now, with him on his way to Alderaan, I can _tell_ he's thinking about me."

Ros watched her green eyes light up as she spoke of the Jedi. She was so in love and so happy that suddenly Ros couldn't begrudge her happiness. He never could. He would do anything to see her happy, including keeping his truest, deepest feelings from her.

She stood up, suddenly restless as she went on, "Thing is marriage is forbidden for Jedi, but if we do it in secret no one will ever have to know." She peered at him intensely, seriously. "Ros, I'm only telling you and Mom. That's it. No one, not even the Callowins or Yarlett can know that Nejaa Halcyon is more than a friend to me; no one can even suspect that he's my lover. It would be too close to the truth."

Ros swallowed hard and pointedly asked, "What can happen if it gets out? It's damned hard to keep that kind of secret for a lifetime, Scerra."

"I know. But it has to stay secret. As for what can happen, at the very least, we could be criticized and looked down upon by society and the Jedi. At worst, Nejaa could be asked to make a choice between the Jedi or me. I know he'd choose me, but he'd be miserable if it came to that. So, I can't take that chance, ever."

Ros wasn't sure that either Nejaa or Scerra had really thought this thing through. He hoped to all the hells of Corellia it wasn't a proposal made in that desperate heat of passion and that Nejaa would come to regret it before he got back to Corellia. He'd kill the Jedi with his bare hands if he hurt Scerra by taking it back, despite the fact that the hardest thing he'd ever have to do was watch her marry another man.

"Scerra, you know I would never jeopardize your happiness. I'll do anything to make sure it never comes out. I just hope that you aren't making a mistake." He stood up and moved to gently take her into his arms. He hugged her, taking in the sweet scent of the perfume she always wore. It was a fragrance that he had always associated with her. He rested his chin on top of her head and just held on. He would always love her, he knew that. It was a complicated love that he didn't even understand. She was his best friend, most trusted confidante, the sister he never had. But there were times when he wanted nothing more than to kiss her breathless, even though he knew that she never, ever would think of him that way. Nor would he ever want to chance ruining their relationship with letting her know how he dreamt only of her. That when he dated, which was becoming rarer and rarer, he looked for women who could remind him of her, hoping that he could fall in love with them because they were so much like her. He was looking for Scerra, knowing deep down he'd never find her. There was a time over the past year, he thought she'd come to love him. However the fact that she was now in love with another man proved that the thought never crossed her mind. "You've only known him for six weeks, Scerra."

She pulled away and looked up at him, but she didn't move totally from his embrace. "I knew I loved him the moment I saw him, Ros. I've never felt like this for anyone. Not even Dak Karlson." That was saying something. Scerra always measured her relationships with the feelings she had felt for Dak. "In fact, I never even compared the two, because from the beginning I felt more for Nejaa than I ever felt for Dak." She turned out of his arms and he willingly let her go. "I just wanted to tell you first."

He smiled. Of course, she'd tell him first, he thought, she told him everything. "Well, that's something."

"Ros," she gazed up at him so tenderly, it was that look that would have him do anything for her, "I'm not naïve enough to think this will be easy. Please never stop being here for me. Okay?"

He stepped closer and took her into his embrace again, holding tight, he closed his eyes and said without a moment's second thought, "I'll never want to be anywhere else. I love you, Scerra."

She looked up and smiled at him, open and loyal. Just as a sister would, he imagined. "I love you, too."

xxx

_Jedi Temple, Coruscant_

Nejaa made his way through the Room of a Thousand Fountains. He'd been back at the Temple for three days. His meeting with the Council was later that afternoon. He had made it a point to avoid most of the other Jedi who knew him, but he knew that was impossible for the whole time he'd be here. It was going to be an extremely long month.

Finding a spot on a mat of mossy grass beside one of the smaller fountains, he sat to meditate. He had a lot the think about and amazingly it wasn't only Scerra or the incredible promise he made to her. Though, he could hardly keep his mind off the last few days he spent with her.

_"When I get back, I want to marry you," he told her as he held her against his chest. He'd be leaving in less than two hours with the painting._

_She leaned over him, pressing her body to his. He was beginning to wonder if he would ever be able to leave her bed to go anywhere. She was just too damned sexy. As if she knew what he was thinking, she grinned wickedly, "Oh, I think you've had quite enough, Master Halcyon."_

_"Never."_

_"Yep, besides, I think it's time we both take a shower." She wrinkled her nose and he laughed._

_ "Well, I suppose that's telling me. But can we do it together. You know, save time and water and all that."_

_She met his all too innocently expectant expression and laughed. "You've never done that before, have you? Made love in the shower?"_

_"Nope. But I plan on making up for it, trust me."_

_"I'm sure you will." She got out of the bed and he followed her into the refresher, holding her hand. As she turned on the spray, letting it get warm, she turned and said, "About the wedding, I'll make the arrangements._ _Tyrena has always been known for a place of fast, no-questions-asked marriages. I think Gold Beach would be perfect."_

He shook the memory of their last time out of his mind. The last thing he needed was for it to leak out and be picked up by one of the several other Jedi meditating in the enchanting indoor garden.

He sighed and instead tried to focus on his other problem. He knew the Council wanted him to take a Padawan, but that was impossible now, at least, until he and Scerra figured out just how being secretly married was going to work. He really doubted that out of over ten thousand Jedi, his was a novel idea. Surely, there were others who were living the same type of life he and Scerra were contemplating entering. But that was the problem; he couldn't ask even those who he could possibly suspect. The Jedi that spent most of their life out on the Outer Rim, away from the Core and the watchful eyes of the Jedi Council. The ones who were known for their string of lovers and the ones who just disappeared for a while; that, however, usually only happened to the females.

He only hoped that he could hide his feelings, which was the one thing he never was good at. His Master used to tell him that he wore his heart on his sleeve. Well, he'd soon have to figure out how not to do that. One thing was for sure, Scerra was right about one thing. He'd have left the Order for her, but he'd always miss it. He only hoped he was able to figure out how to keep the two very distinctly different lives from colliding someday. And hoped to the Hells of Corellia that if it happened he could figure what to do then.


	8. Chapter 8

**Melmarett**...Yes, Ros is the type of friend that doesn't take his secrets lightly. As for Nejaa, he'll be fine…Thanks for reading!!

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_**Chapter 8**_  
44 BBY

_Este Neighborhood, Coronet_

Nejaa was restless, though he tried to keep his pacing down to a minimum. He knew something had to be done, or someone was going to be killed. Ros shot him a glance and made his way over to where the Jedi was rigidly standing with his arms crossed over his chest.

"You look like you have a plan."

Nejaa met his friend's eyes and nodded. "I'm working on one. I know that this isn't working." He gestured with his chin toward the human female crisis counselor. She was busily talking soothingly via an open comm channel with the credit changing booth droid. Every now and again a loud explosive response would come from the other end of the comm. "This is unusual behavior for Devaronians. They may like to connive and swindle, but they usually aren't violent. He's getting desperate, I can feel it. And that poor woman is beyond panic."

"He's getting to the point where he has nothing to loose. I agree." Ros again looked out over the wide street of the otherwise quiet business district through the windows of the tapcafe where the main group of CorSec was staking out the bank across the street. Other groups of officers were stationed on the roof of an adjoining building, while others were holding back the curious at either ends of the block.

Ten hours ago a call came into CorSec headquarters that a male Devaronian had taken a human woman hostage after he tried to rob the credit changing booth in the Este neighborhood of the Southside of Coronet. All such booths were manned by a droid programmed to never give in to demands from possible thieves. If the being requesting credits to be either deposited into their accounts, or withdrawing them didn't have the proper credentials, nothing would be done. To be intimidated by someone with a blaster held at its head wasn't even programmed into the machines.

However, he was crazy enough to think that the droid would give into his demands if he held it to another flesh-and-blood hostage. So, he grabbed the mother of four as she passed the bank on her way to her place of employment, and pulled her within the small confines of the building.

Nejaa looked over to the back of the dining room where a thin man in his mid-thirties stood with another crisis councilor. He looked drawn and defeated, and his presence shimmered with anguished pain and even guilt. Nejaa pulled his eyes from the woman's husband and turned back to Ros.

Quietly, he said, "I have to do something, Ros. I keep imagining me in that man's position and I don't like what it feels like."

"But what do you have planned?"

"You know me well enough by now."

Ros glanced back out the window. After a moment, he said, "Jenaves won't like it."

"Captain Jenaves requested my presence, so I can assume that he trusts my judgment on this. Otherwise, he wouldn't have called me in." Nejaa looked around and then his eyes fell upon the husband again. Quietly, he added, "I understand his wanting to be here, but he really isn't doing himself any good by it."

Before Ros could comment, Nejaa moved over to him. The councilor looked up at him and stopped her soothing speech. Nodding to the Jedi, she stepped away. The man brought his attention to Nejaa.

"You're a Jedi?"

Nejaa nodded and affirmed, "Yes, Mr. Powd."

"Are you gonna help Talla?" It was more plea than question.

Nejaa laid his hand on his shoulder and poured comfort into the Force as he said with a reassuring smile, "I am."

Powd gazed at Nejaa with a flicker of hope and trust in his eyes. "Please, bring her back to me. She's my life."

Nejaa understood all too well. "I will."

He turned to find Ros waiting for him. "Do I want to know how you are gonna get over there?"

Nejaa grinned. "Probably not."

"Need help?"

"I thought you didn't like it when I go off and do things my way."

"I don't." Ros then looked at the crisis councilor as she responded to another outburst from the abductor. "But you're right, we have to do something." Then he grinned and quipped, "I hate to admit this and I'll deny ever saying it, but your hair-brained schemes usually work."

Nejaa smiled back and responded evenly, "Let's hope they never stop working. Let's go. I'll fill you in as we go."

They headed toward the kitchen and the back exit when Ros laughed. "No, you won't. But after a year of this, I'm on to you."

Nejaa quirked his brow, but remained silent. Ros and he really did have a unique partnership, considering Ros was as Force-blind as a rock. As the Jedi reached out to the woman in the booth, he remembered the promise he made to her husband and thought about again what he'd feel if he was in his place.

He had returned to Corellia two months after leaving. As he had predicted, the Council had wanted him to take another Padawan, but worse, was the talk of sending him to the Outer Rim again. He had almost lost all hope of avoiding it when he received unexpected help from an even more unexpected source. The Director of CorSec contacted the Jedi Council and requested that they allow Nejaa Halcyon to return to Corellia to liaison with the security force, saying that he was impressed with Nejaa's insights concerning the recovery of the Alderaanian painting. Later, Nejaa discovered that with the encouragement from Ros, Yarlet Jenaves made the request of the director to ask for Nejaa's return to CorSec.

Within a week after Nejaa's return, he and Scerra were married secretly at sunset on a secluded section of Gold Beach, with the holy man, Ros and Adelyn as the only witnesses. Then with Adelyn's help, Nejaa and Scerra bought a house in a quiet neighborhood. However, to prevent any suspicion as to why a Jedi and a woman would be living together, Ros moved in as well. The two men took the upstairs rooms and created Ros his own apartment, while the Halcyons lived on the lower level. Most people assumed Ros had moved in with Scerra, while the Jedi only stayed there as a mutual friend and to help offset their considerable mortgage. The three of them never did anything to change that perception; in fact, they encouraged it by Scerra showing Ros affection in public. It bothered Nejaa to watch his wife openly hugging and the occasional chaste kiss, but he knew Scerra loved him and only felt friendship for Ros. Though, he suspected Ros felt more for Scerra; the cop never would act on it, of that he was certain. Ros was too honorable and respected Scerra's feelings for Nejaa too much.

They exited the back door of the tapcafe and Nejaa stopped to look around the dark ally between the buildings. Finally, he turned to Ros and said, "The building the booth is part of has an ally behind it."

"Yeah, but there's no doors or windows," Ros reminded him. CorSec rejected that entry option soon after beginning the stakeout. "Neither is there any back entry into the bank itself."

"True," Nejaa agreed, "but I can get us in."

Suddenly, a memory flashed from another case earlier that year, and Ros grinned. "Oh, right, your handy torch. I think we all should have one of those fancy light sticks."

Nejaa sniggered as he began down the ally. "That would be the day. No one in CorSec could handle one."

"You think so?" Ros challenged his friend as they exited the ally.

Nejaa looked over at the throng of beings being held back by the police line at the intersection of the main streets before answering, "I know so. You'd all be missing limbs within moments of getting one."

Ros pointed toward the other ally across the street. Nejaa nodded and they ran across the pavement. As they entered the other ally, Ros countered, "I don't know, I think I could handle it. Sure, the Force is important, I won't deny that, especially when you start batting blaster shots out of the air like my grandma used to bat leafhoppers from her prized lilies, but straight up sword play…I think I could do that." They came to the first juncture between the buildings, and Ros turned to head out to the main street behind the crowd at the intersection with Nejaa right beside him.

"You do?" Nejaa was amused at Ros's evaluation. Of course, he'd watched the Jedi practice enough in the basement of their house to think he knew something about lightsabers.

They stopped at the street, Ros pointed across the street. "There's no inlet to the ally behind that block, but we should be able to get to the roof of that shop."

"Yeah, that'll work."

As they headed toward the single story trinket shop, Ros answered Nejaa's challenge. "Yep, I do think I could take you on in a sparring match. At the Academy we had fencing classes with broad swords. You know the type the Mandos use. I was pretty good. Of course, you couldn't use the Force because that just wouldn't be fair. I'll tell you what. You find me a lightsaber and I'll show you."

Nejaa laughed as he assessed how they would get to the roof. Then he looked over his shoulder at his friend with a lopsided smirk. "Okay, but there's no way I'll let you anywhere near me with a lightsaber. But I do have some practice sabers that I used with my Padawan. Nothing can be removed I may wish to keep that way."

"So, you think I'll be good enough to get that close, huh?" Ros sniggered.

"Nope, but Scerra has some awfully big knives in that kitchen of hers. And she's been a little temperamental the past week or so."

Ros laughed and said, "Yeah, I'm glad you're around to take the brunt of her temper. She wouldn't like us making a mess of her basement with scorch marks, or littering it with body parts."

Finally, deciding that they could scale the structure by climbing onto the stoop railing and then onto the stoop roof, Nejaa began climbing. He looked back at Ros and winked as he corrected, "_Our_ basement, but it's better if she thinks it's hers."

Within moments, they were in the ally behind the shop and making their way toward the back of the bank.

xxx

_North Side Academy, Coronet City__, Corellia_

Scerra made her way into the staff lounge and headed toward the food preserver where she had placed her lunch. A group of other teachers were watching the HoloNet viewer as they sat at the table and ate their lunches in quiet companionship. The midday meal was a welcome break from the classroom. Although, as she carried her lunch bag toward the table, the smells of reheated food hit her and suddenly made her wish she hadn't even entered the room. The table was filled and several of her fellow teachers greeted her, but soon turned back to the midday news and their own meals.

She found an open space beside the teacher who took over her classroom when she was promoted to dean at the beginning of the session seven months ago.

As she sat down, the young woman announced, "That boyfriend of yours is in the news again." She punctuated her statement with an envious grin as she bit into a piece of fruit.

Scerra felt the instant spike of fear she felt anytime someone mentioned anything regarding a man being attached to her. She covered it quickly by opening the small insulated bag that contained her sandwich and raw vegetables. "Oh?"

The young teacher continued to grin as she finished chewing. After wiping her mouth with a flimsy napkin, she said, "Yeah, apparently he and that Jedi you know saved some woman from a kidnapper at a credit changer in Este."

Scerra brightened and opened her soft-drink. "Ahh…yeah, Ne…er, Ros was called out late last night about that." She silently chided herself for her near slip. Even after eight months of doing this, she still sometimes left things slip. She quickly said, "How did they finally catch him?"

"Oh, that Jedi…what's his name?...Anyway, that Jedi got into the bank and he and Officer Horn rescued the woman and arrested the man." Then she looked at Scerra and conspiratorially added, "You'll have to give us all the dirty details tomorrow, Dean."

Scerra gave her a wan smile and nodded, but her mind was already on something else—her suddenly churning stomach. She glanced back at the sandwich and knew she couldn't eat it.

"Hey, Dean Mallane, are you feeling okay? You don't…"

That was when it hit her again. She stood up so quickly her chair fell to the floor and she rushed to the nearest refresher, ignoring both the concerned questions of her colleagues and their puzzled looks.

After the last of the dry heaves ended, Scerra sat down on the 'fresher floor and leaned her head back against the wall. Closing her eyes, she took a couple deep breaths to settle her stomach. She had been feeling nauseated for the past week, off and on, particularly in the morning when she first got up, but today was the worst. She hadn't told Nejaa about it, but she knew he had suspected she wasn't well when she rushed to the refresher yesterday morning. She woke up sick and considered not coming into work today, but she had two interviews to conduct with perspective applicants for a teaching position that would be opening up and couldn't afford to reschedule them.

Slowly she stood up and leaned against the sink. She rinsed her mouth and was adjusting her wrinkled suit when a sudden thought came to her. She stared at herself for a moment in the mirror, wondering if it was possible. She left the refresher just as the bell rang indicating the end of the lunch period. She waited a few more minutes to ensure that the lounge would be empty, before going back in. The last thing she wanted to face was a room full of nosy subordinates who would love to have some bit of gossip on her. It was bad enough that they thought Ros was her live-in lover. The last thing she needed was to have them speculate on her sudden illness. Deciding that she definitely didn't want her lunch, she threw it away and headed back to her office.

After entering the sanctuary of the office she had occupied for the past academic session, she pulled her calendar and began a mental calculation. As she counted off days, the feeling that started out as an inking became a full fledged thought.

"…six, seven, eight, nine…" She dropped the datapad and stared off into space stunned. How could she have missed it? Then she remembered that she had been a few days late with her last injection due to a snafu at the clinic. The med-droid insisted that she'd be fine. _Well, obviously I'm not! _She thought and then whispered, "Oh, kriff…I'm pregnant."


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter 9**_

_Halycon/Horn Residence, West Side, Coronet_

Nejaa watched as Scerra picked at the plate of food that he'd placed before her at the beginning of the meal. Nejaa had invited Ros to dinner after they got back from their debriefing with Captain Jenaves about their part in the resolution of the hostage crisis in Este, but now he wished he hadn't. She was trying to hide something from him, and he didn't have to be a Jedi to tell that it was something important.

Ros looked up as he took a sip from the bottle of lomin ale. He wiped his mouth and said, "You know, if you'd rather be alone…"

Scerra met his gaze and said, "Sorry, Ros. But, yeah, I do have to talk with my husband."

Ros nodded and stood, picking up his plate and ale. Smiling to break the sudden tension, he announced, "If you guys don't mind, I'll take my dinner and go upstairs."

Nejaa nodded at him, and Scerra weakly smiled and said, "Thanks, Ros."

After their friend was gone, Nejaa pushed his plate away and leaned over the false wood top of the table. "Okay, you want to tell me what's going on."

She looked down at her uneaten food and took a deep breath. After a moment, she looked up and quietly said, "Nejaa, I've screwed up."

"What do you mean?" he asked as he sat back, concern clearly etched in his face and voice.

She sighed again, and then looked him in the eye and said, "I'm pregnant."

At first, he wasn't sure what to think, much less say. Of course, his silence was totally misread by Scerra. She stood up and hugged herself as she moved out of the dining room and into the front room that was the home's living room.

He followed her into the airy room and found her staring out the window at the small front yard where Ros already had flowers blooming in a raised bed. He could tell she was crying.

"Scerra? Are you sure?"

Without turning, she sniffed and nodded. Then she wiped at her eyes with her fingers and turned. "I took a test today after school."

He moved to take her into his arms and she let him. "What are we going to do? I'm sorry…"

Nejaa stroked her short auburn hair as she spoke, but when she apologized, he pushed her away and held her face between his hands. Gently, he said, "Stop blaming yourself for this. I'm pretty sure that I'm just as much to blame." He smiled, trying to reassure her and sheepishly said, "I'm almost insatiable around you."

She didn't respond to his comment, and instead said, "But if I hadn't been so trusting of that med droid. I should have asked the doctor if it would be safe. We should have used something else for a while. I must have gotten pregnant…"

He silenced her with a kiss. Tender and ever so gentle, it was meant to soothe. When he broke it, he gazed into her teary green eyes and whispered, "Do you remember me telling you that I hope our kids have your eyes?"

She gave him a weak smile and nodded. "Yeah, but we'd decided that it would be better if we didn't have kids. I should have been sterilized when we were considering it."

"No. You were the one who suggested that. Scerra, you will be a wonderful mother, and I would never want to take away the chance for you to be one."

She pulled away from him and shook her head. "Damnit, Nejaa, don't you see the complications this causes?"

"Of course, I do. It simply means that I have to leave the Jedi and acknowledge you as my wife," he replied calmly and moved toward her.

She spun to glare at him. The fury in her caused him to stop short. "That's your answer for everything, isn't it?"

He recoiled at the sharpness of her voice. "In this, yes. I've told you more than once that I'll always put you ahead of the Jedi."

"And do what?" she nearly shouted. "Join CorSec? Tell me, Nejaa, what did Jenaves tell you today about your heroics? That could have gotten you, or Ros, or that poor woman killed, by the way."

He looked away. "I thought so," she responded to her own question. "He wasn't happy that you took matters into your own hands. Again."

"No, he wasn't. Just like before," he quietly answered.

"But he can't really do much about it, except complain to the director and the Jedi Council that you don't follow orders. But he won't do that because he's the one who convinced the director to contact the Jedi that CorSec needed you." She paused and stared hard at him, then she quietly inquired, "However, what do you think he could do if you were part of the force? What did he do to Ros?"

Nejaa turned away and heaved in a heavy breath. "I'd have gotten the same as Ros."

"Which was?"

"A stern warning that, if he does something like that again, he'd have to bring it to the attention of the director." He turned back to her and sternly, passionately said, "But I did the right thing. I was able to talk him into surrendering. No one was hurt, but if I'd ignored my feelings I'm afraid someone would have."

She shook her head and walked away, but his voice stopped her. "Scerra, I can't ignore the Force."

She turned and said, "No, maybe not, but the rest of us don't know not to. That's why you're a Jedi and not a police officer."

She left him alone in the quiet waning light of evening as the last rays of the setting sun shimmered between the two homes across the quiet street and into the three large front windows. A speeder sped by going much too fast, but the engines couldn't be heard through the soundproofing of the home's brick walls.

In a flash of the Force he saw it careen down the street. And in the next heartbeat he saw a fiery crash as it hit the delivery truck that ran a traffic signal, the tricky signal at the end of the street that the setting sun always made hard to see if you were traveling west.

Nejaa ran from the house as fast as he could, calling on the Force to give him strength and speed. He instantly saw the speeder-truck flash between the other houses that lined the street behind his, as it came down the street headed for the intersection. Not even thinking about it, he sent the driver a Force illusion to stop. The heavy truck did, in a screech of a reverse thruster and repulsers. The speeder, which he instantly recognized as belonging to one of their neighbors, made it safely through the intersection, heading north toward the local teen hangout, no doubt.

He exhaled in sudden release as he bent over with his hands on his knees. He let go of his hold on the mind of the delivery driver, and made a mental note to speak to the young man driving the speeder. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his back, and turned to see the tear streaked face of his beautiful wife. But he didn't see anger in the depths of the green eyes that he loved so much, he saw awe, and wonder, and above all love.

In a shaky voice she whispered, "You just saved Mr. Kerksly, didn't you?"

Nejaa straightened up. "Actually, I think it was his son, Ben. But, yeah, I just may have."

And suddenly, Nejaa realized that Scerra was right. He was a Jedi and never could be just another normal citizen. However, just as important, normal citizens would never be able to understand what he could do, and that to ignore his feelings would be totally against everything he'd been taught since the age of two.

x

She listened as he finished in the 'fresher, then she watched as he turned off the light and moved across the dark room they shared. She closed her eyes when he came closer to the bed. She felt the bed shift as his muscular frame crawled in beside her and she hoped that he'd think she was sleeping. She had gone to bed over an hour ago.

They hadn't spoken again about the baby. After he saved the Kerksly kid, an act which still rattled her, he went for a long walk. She busied herself with cleaning up from their mostly uneaten dinner. She had no idea what they could do about the baby. She had gotten onto the HoloNet and discovered that she probably wouldn't start to look "pregnant" until the twentieth week, maybe a little longer if she gained weight all over, not just in her abdomen. That gave them four months, at most, to figure out what they were going to do.

He lied on his back with his arms under his head and he said, "I know you aren't sleeping."

She pulled her knees up further and hugged herself. She felt so alone. She wanted him to hold her and tell her everything would be okay. But at the same time, she wanted away from him. She said in a shaky voice, "Nejaa, what are we going to do?"

He leaned over her and surprised her when he snaked his hand around to lay it on her flat belly. His touch was tender and she knew she'd never be able to live without it. She looked over her shoulder at him, and he opened his eyes when she whispered, "I'm so afraid."

"I know." His voice was rough with his own raging emotions. "I am too. But I love you, Scerra. And…" he kissed her shoulder, "…I already love our baby."

She turned over onto her back and gazed up at him. "You know that once it comes out that I'm pregnant I'll be asked to leave the school."

He nodded, but she continued before he could speak. "I'm already looked down upon because of my supposed live-in relationship with Ros."

She felt him stiffen and she knew that he never really liked the lie they had to live. Nejaa probably loved Ros like a brother, at least they acted like it, but she also saw the tension there when either one of them showed her any outward affection in the presence of the other. She wasn't sure why Ros was so affected by her and Nejaa, but she understood Nejaa's moments of irrational jealousy. She'd feel the same way if she had to watch another woman with Nejaa while she pretended to be just nobody.

When he didn't say anything, she went on, "I could pretend the baby is his…"

"No." She turned when he sat up. Then more calmly, as he scrubbed his face with his hands he repeated, "No. I…we can't ask him to do that. This baby is mine." He looked over his shoulder at her and after a long moment he said, "We could go away for awhile before it becomes obvious that you're pregnant. We could even go to another planet. Somewhere where no one knows I'm a Jedi, or care that we're married. Maybe Chandrilia. The Silver Sea is beautiful. Or to Alderaan's snowy mountains."

She also sat up behind him. "But what about later. After I have the baby. I still will be considered a single, unwed mother living with her boyfriend."

"I'll take the baby."

"You?"

He turned and took her hands into his. "Yes, me. I could take him or her back to the Jedi Temple. Of course, it wouldn't take the Jedi long to figure out that he's my child, but they would never know the whole truth."

She stared at him. Pulling her hands from his, she got out of the bed and glared at him. "How? How could you think that I'd ever give my child away?"

He stood and faced her with their bed between them, which suddenly seemed as vast as an entire planet. "It's just a suggestion. I didn't mean to…"

"Kriff you! This is my baby, too! I know that is what you used to do. I know you used to take babies away from their families and bring them to the Jedi. And I can only imagine that you believed the lies that you told those families after a time. But you will not take my baby away!" She knew that she was near hysterics, but at the moment she didn't care.

"Scerra…" his voiced cracked and she calmed enough to really look at him. He was shirtless, dressed only in the sleep pants that he normally wore to bed, when he chose to wear anything at all. His hair was long and fell around his broad shoulders, but his eyes were dark in the darkness of the room. The only light was the moonlight that filtered through the two bedroom windows. But it wasn't his utter masculinity that she saw, it was his sudden vulnerability. "I'm sorry, love, I…I…" he swallowed hard and he glanced down at the bed where their child was likely conceived six weeks ago, "couldn't really do that either."

She moved around the end of the bed and laid her trembling hands on his chest. He met her gaze and she said, "When it comes obvious that I'm pregnant, I'll quietly resign from Northside. There are other schools in Coronet that would love to have me as a teacher, or even as a principal. I just have to do that and we'll just have to make it work." She moved closer and laid her head against the warm strength of his shoulder and murmured into his neck, "I love you, Nejaa Halcyon. I love you so much. I just don't ever want to lose you."

He took her into his arms and held her. "That's what really scares you, isn't it? That if the Jedi find out about us, they'll send me away?"

She looked into his eyes and responded, "Yes, I sometimes feel that we are just stealing moments. I'm so afraid every time you do something drastic like you did with that robber that the Jedi will pull you from Corellia and you'll never be able to come back."

He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. "I'll leave the Jedi if they ever do that to us, Scerra. I'd leave and come home and never look back." Before she could protest, he covered her lips with his fingertips and his voice was deep and rumbled as he added, "And I don't care if I don't do a thing. I can't live without you either."

His lips came down onto hers and she moaned as he pulled her against him and deepened the kiss. After he thoroughly ravished her mouth, stealing her breath and creating an undeniable ache within her, he parted from her and rasped, "I want you, Scerra. I want to make love to you."

She whimpered and let him lift the tank top she was wearing off. She normally wore silky things to bed since getting married, but tonight she donned her old shorts and tank top. She stood before him and he ran his heated gaze down over her. She shivered as he touched her, his big hands following the track his gaze had taken, instantly causing the thrill of aching bliss she always felt when he touched her. When he reached her abdomen he turned her around and laid his palms flat against her. She closed her eyes and her breathing sped up as he nibbled on her neck below her ear.

"Let me show you what I see when I reach through the Force," he whispered in her ear, his hot breath making her shiver.

"What do you mean?" She was breathless.

He smiled against her neck. "I can sense the baby."

She turned to look him in the eyes. "You can?"

Smiling, he nodded and said, "Yeah. Would you like to see what I do?"

She was too astonished to do more than nod. Her desire was momentarily forgotten with the prospect of _seeing_ her baby. He kissed her neck and softly instructed, "Close your eyes and open your mind to me."

"Like when we make love?"

He lightly chuckled and answered, "Yeah, like that."

She did as he instructed and soon she felt herself floating. It was disconcerting at first, but then she saw a fuzzy red light. Concentrating on the light, it soon became clearer. She gasped when she saw the outline of a tiny bean-like object that she instantly knew was her baby. She gasped and nearly lost her connection with Nejaa, or maybe, he almost lost it with her. She could feel his tidal wave of emotion as he, too, concentrated on the life they created together.

Pulling back, he released her mind and she breathed, "Oh, gods, Nejaa. That's our baby?"

His voice shook as he said incredulously, "Scerra, that's our baby." He turned her to face him again and she trembled at the intensity of his dark eyes in the dimness of their bedroom. "I could never give him away. I'm ashamed that I'd even think that, much less suggest it."

Before she could say anything, he pulled her to him and begged, "Please, forgive me."

"Nejaa, I love you. There's nothing to for…" whatever else she was going to say was lost when he covered her mouth in a passionate kiss that set her soul on fire and made her to believe that everything would somehow be all right.

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Thanks for reading...


	10. AUTHOR'S NOTE

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who has read my stories over the three years that I've posted on here.

I've appreciated every comment I've gotten on all of my stories and I'm truly sorry that I'm not unable to finish the ones in-progress. Unfortunately, neither do I have any plans to do so at the moment.

Since I consider you all friends, I'd like to share in my current excitement.

I should mention that you can blame Stephanie Meyer. It is due to her becoming an inspiration to me for my discontinuation of these stories...

Because of her wonderful world, I fell in love with vampires...So much so that I've read Anne Rice and many others since then. However, it wasn't just Ms. Meyer's stories that has gotten me more excited about my own original writing than about fanfiction, it was her personal journey to become a writer.

I don't know if my personal story will be similar, but I've just finished my very first original novel that I'm pursuing to have published and began writing the second. The finished novel is the first book of a planned trilogy that could become a series of adult vampire romances focusing on a unique sect of vampires who have become vampire hunters. I have a qualified friend editing it right now and will begin querying agents within a month. I'm both excited and scared to death.

Regrettably, I no longer have time for writing fanfiction. I've been focusing all my energy on editing, writing and researching for my original stuff.

Thanks again for reading and I'm sorry if I've disappointed you in not finishing it…But who knows, you may be able to find my stories someday in a book store near you….

I will make an announcement in my Profile if and when that is to happen.

WISH ME LUCK!!!

If you'd like to email me or PM please do so...I would love to hear from you!!!!

Sara


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